Ontario Teachers' to acquire PODS

TORONTO, Dec. 22, 2014 /CNW/ - Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (Teachers') today announced an agreement to acquire PODS (Portable On Demand Storage), the leading provider of container-based moving and storage solutions, from an ownership group led by Arcapita. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed and closing is expected in the first quarter of 2015.

Based in Clearwater, Florida, PODS has corporate and franchise markets across the United States, as well as operations in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. The company, founded in 1998, operates by delivering a storage container to the customer's location to be packed and then stored or delivered to another location.

This transaction is led by Teachers' Private Capital's Long-Term Equities group, which is focused on direct investments with steady cash flow, growth potential over a long-term horizon and a low to moderate level of risk.

Teachers' plans to operate PODS as a standalone business operation with the current management team remaining in place.

"PODS is a well-known brand with a leading position in an attractive market. The company is a strong fit with our investment criteria and we look forward to supporting the management team," said Lee Sienna, Vice-President, Long-Term Equities.

About Teachers'
With $140.8 billion in net assets as of December 31, 2013, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada.  An independent organization, it invests the pension fund's assets and administers the defined-benefit pensions of 307,000 active and retired teachers in Ontario. For more information, visit www.otpp.com.  Follow us on Twitter @OtppInfo

SOURCE: Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

Andrew Kondraski, Investment Communications, 416-730-6880, [email protected]