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EzStorage Exploring Sale Valuing Company at More Than $2 Billion

EzStorage Exploring Sale Valuing Company at More Than $2 Billion

EzStorage, which describes itself as the largest self-storage company in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C., is exploring a sale that may value it at more than $2 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The closely held company, based in Maryland, is working with real estate advisory firm Eastdil Secured on the transaction, said the people, who requested anonymity because the information isn’t public.

An Eastdil spokesman declined to comment and a representative for EzStorage didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The family-owned business operates more than 44,000 units and offers climate-controlled facilities, boat and vehicle storage, among other options. Amid the pandemic, EzStorage said in April it had rolled out a system for contactless rentals.

Demand for self-storage in U.S. cities has boomed as residents seek to escape Covid-19 hot spots. Institutional investors have flocked to the sector, due to its perceived resilience.

In October, an affiliate of Blackstone Group Inc. agreed to buy Simply Self Storage from a Brookfield Asset Management Inc. fund for about $1.2 billion. And this summer, Rizk Ventures-backed a new platform, SpareBox Storage, that’s seeking to amass $1 billion in properties in an effort to consolidate the fragmented self-storage market.

Self-storage real estate investment trusts have outperformed the broader REIT sector during the pandemic. This year, Public Storage, CubeSmart and Extra Space Storage Inc. have seen their shares climb, compared with a roughly 9% decline in the Bloomberg U.S. REITs Index.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.