Abacus Storage King grants due diligence on $2.2b buyout

The news: Abacus Storage King's joint suitors Ki Corporation and Public Storage have been granted a six-week period of due diligence after tabling an $2.2 billion takeover offer last week.

The numbers: The revised proposal would see Abacus shareholders receive $1.65 per share, representing a 15% increase from the initial offer of $1.47 per share. Abacus shares last closed at $1.55.

The context: The self-storage operator said its independent board committee granted the due diligence access to determine whether the consortium comprising South Africa’s Ki Corporation and US-listed Public Storage can develop a binding proposal to be recommended to shareholders.

The board rejected a previous bid by the suitors in May, saying the offer price did not reflect fair value, and pointed to an independent valuation review which estimated the Abacus net tangible asset portfolio at $1.73 a share.