Portable-storage providers Mobile Mini Inc. of Tempe, Ariz. and Mobile Storage Group Inc. of Glendale, Calif., have entered a definitive merger agreement. Under its terms, Mobile Storage Group will merge into Mobile Mini in a transaction valued at approximately $701.5 million. Upon completion of the merger, Mobile Mini will be positioned to cover most major portable-storage markets in the United States and United Kingdom. The transaction is expected to close as early as June 2008.
 
Pursuant to the merger, Mobile Mini will assume approximately $535 million in debt and acquire all outstanding shares of Mobile Storage Group for $12.5 million in cash and shares of newly issued Mobile Mini convertible preferred stock. Mobile Storage Group is majority owned by the private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), which, along with the other equity holders, will convert substantially all of its equity ownership of Mobile Storage Group into Mobile Mini preferred stock. As part of the transaction, two WCAS representatives will be elected to Mobile Minis board of directors.
 
The merged organization will include senior executives from both companies. Steve Bunger will serve as chairman, president and chief executive officer, and Larry Trachtenberg will continue as chief financial officer. Doug Waugaman, CEO of Mobile Storage Group, will join Mobile Mini as COO of integration, reporting directly to Bunger. Jody Miller, Bill Armstead and Ron Halchishak, senior executives at Mobile Storage Group, will also assume senior roles.
 
The merger will add 21 new U.S. locations and 14 U.K. locations to Mobile Minis operations. For more information, visit www.mobilemini.com.