Last week, Columbia-based TKG-StorageMart Partners made an unsolicited bid to take over Canada-based InStorage Real Estate Investment Trust. On Wednesday, the company offered to acquire all of the outstanding trust units of InStorage at a price of $3.75 per unit through its Alberta, Canada-based subsidiary TKG-StorageMart Canada Inc. The announcement comes just after TKG-StorageMart’s acquisition of 19.5 percent of InStorage shares.

InStorage has created a special committee to review TKG-StorageMart’s offer. "InStorage unitholders are urged to take no action with respect to the offer (which is open for acceptance until November 21) until such time as the trustees of InStorage have issued further communication with respect to the offer," the company said in a written statement.

The REIT's committee noted that the offer was a significant discount to trading values for InStorage trust units over the year prior to the recent market turmoil. The offer represents a 28.9 percent discount to the one-year weighted average trading price for InStorage's trust units, and a 21.5 percent discount to the weighted average six-month average trading price.

If the offer is successful, it will cost TKG-StorageMart about $300 million for the company’s remaining shares as well as its debt, said StorageMart President Cris Burnam. He also said it’s worthwhile because it would provide his company with the platform to expand business operations in Canada and the United States.

InStorage is the largest owner-operator of self-storage facilities in Canada, with 52 self-storage properties in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec.

TKG-StorageMart has 70 facilities in the United States and Canada, including five in Columbia. The Burnam family has been involved in the self-storage industry since 1974.