December 15, 2021

3 Min Read
Self-Storage REIT CubeSmart Completes Acquisition of Storage West Portfolio for $1.7B

Update 12/15/21 – CubeSmart has completed its acquisition of the Storage West portfolio owned by LAACO. The seller was advised during the transaction by Eastdil Secured, a New York-based global real estate investment bank.

“This was a highly strategic transaction, and it underscores the favorable fundamentals and strength of this industry,” said Kieran O’Shea, managing director at Eastdil, in a press release. “With assets that continue to outperform [other sectors] and relatively little capital-expense requirements, we are seeing more diverse buyers and increasing levels of capital moving into the space.”

With the closing of this $1.69 billion transaction, O’Shea has advised on three of the largest self-storage transactions this year, all in excess of $1.5 billion. He represented the sellers of ezStorage ($1.8 billion), which sold to Public Storage Inc. in April, and is advising Manhattan Mini Storage, which is expected to sell to StorageMart this month for as much as $3 billion. The Manhattan Mini transaction will be the largest property sale in New York City since 2015, the release stated.

“It’s crazy, it really is, how big and highly fought-after these deals have gotten,” O’Shea told the SpareFoot Storage Beat, an industry blog. “These deals in 2021 will be the largest deals in the sector in the last 15 to 20 years.”

O’Shea has brokered a nine portfolio transactions this year, the blog reported.

Eastdil offers advice to investors worldwide on debt placement, joint ventures, loan sales, mergers and acquisitions, sales, and structured credit. It has 12 offices across the United States and seven worldwide.

11/17/21 – CubeSmart, a self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT) and third-party management company, has agreed to acquire the Storage West portfolio for $1.69 billion. CubeSmart will purchase 100% of the outstanding partnership units of LAACO Ltd., the California-based limited partnership that owns and manages the Storage West brand. The 59-property portfolio comprises more than 4.7 million rentable square feet. The transaction is expected to close by year-end and is subject to customary closing conditions, according to a press release.

Storage West operates 22 facilities in Southern California, 17 in Phoenix, 13 in Las Vegas and seven in Houston. Two are owned by separate joint ventures in which LAACO owns 50%, the release stated.

“The Storage West portfolio represents a very strategic transaction that will enhance our portfolio and further diversify our geographic exposure,” said Christopher P. Marr, president and CEO of CubeSmart. “This immediately accretive transaction is a unique opportunity to acquire a sizable portfolio of high-quality assets across the Southwest. The properties are all in top-40 [Metropolitan Statistical Areas] that represent key growth markets with strong demographics that perfectly fit our external growth strategy and complement our existing portfolio.”

“We are pleased that this transaction will benefit both the unit holders who have supported our company over the years and the shareholders of CubeSmart,” said Karen Hathaway, president and managing partner of LAACO. “We are also gratified that our operations will continue in the good hands of a skilled management team whose values so closely align with ours, and whose success includes solid growth, commitment to their employees, and dedication to customer satisfaction, sustainability and diversity.”

CubeSmart will assume $40.9 million of LAACO debt as part of the deal, which it intends to pay off at closing or shortly thereafter. The REIT expects to finance the transaction through a combination of proceeds from the sale of equity securities and new, long-term debt financing, company officials said.

Headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, CubeSmart owns or manages 1,251 self-storage facilities across the United States. Its operating portfolio comprises 86.8 million square feet.

Sources:
SpareFoot Storage Beat, Kieran O’Shea: The Man Behind the Biggest Self-Storage Deals of 2021
CubeSmart, CubeSmart Announces Agreement to Acquire Storage West Platform

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