Warburg Pincus ’hires Credit Suisse and UBS’ in bid to buy National Storage REIT

Gaw Capital, advised by Goldman Sachs, and Warburg Pincus are understood to be running the numbers on the business.

Global buyout fund Warburg Pincus is understood to have hired Credit Suisse and UBS as part of its efforts to buy National Storage REIT, according to sources.

It comes after the US-based Public Storage made an eye-watering $2.40-per-share takeover bid for the Australian listed company, which was announced to the market on Friday and values the business at almost $1.9bn.

The storage property owner came into play after Gaw Capital Partners had made an approach to buy the business, as first revealed by DataRoom on January 22.

Attempts were then made by the adviser to National Storage REIT, JPMorgan, to drum up competition for the business, approaching potential suitors in the United States, as also first revealed by DataRoom.

Gaw Capital, advised by Goldman Sachs, and Warburg Pincus are understood to be running the numbers on the business, but the thinking among some is that the parties would not be able to compete with Public Storage because their cost of capital is lower.

Public Storage is an international self-storage company based in California that is the largest brand of self-storage services in the United States.

The business, advised by Morgan Stanley, has more than $US10bn of assets under management and is listed on the NYSE.

On Friday, National Storage REIT said it would grant Public Storage access to due diligence, with the $2.40 per share offer higher than the original bid forward by Gaw Capital that was never disclosed.

However, others say that major synergies exist between the Warburg Pincus-controlled real estate business ESR, which owns logistics real estate assets across the Asia Pacific region and National Storage REIT.