Skip to main content

A sign hands in the office of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan on June 12, 2013.Matthew Sherwood/The Globe and Mail

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is acquiring its latest asset from a recovering investment firm that continues to sell its holdings.

Teachers' is buying Clearwater, Fl.-based moving and self-storage company Pods, which will bring a storage container right to customer's doorsteps, and then keep the box in a repository, or move it to a new location. The name "Pods" stands for Portable On-Demand Storage.

The terms of Teachers' deal were not disclosed, but the pension plan is buying the business from an investment group led by a division of Bahrain-based financial group Arcapita Bank BSC, which is recovering from a recent tussle with bankruptcy. Arcapita bought Pods for $430-million (U.S.) in July 2007.

Arcapita came under strain as the financial crisis made accessing capital difficult, and efforts to refinance proved unsuccessful. The company filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection in late 2012 and announced plans to restructure the business. When the company emerged from bankruptcy protection about a year later, it planned to sell off assets within a five year term in order to repay its debts, according to reports at the time.

But the firm hasn't given up on deal making, even as it liquidates these positions. In November, Arcapita raised $100-million from shareholders in the Gulf Co-operation Council region, which includes countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The plan is to first seek real estate and private equity investments in the GCC region, and then expand internationally once again.

Since Arcapita made its investment in Pods, the company has expanded into the U.K. and has continued to build its business out across Canada, the U.S. and Australia. The company also notably won a $60.7-million trademark infringement lawsuit against U-Haul International Inc. over the use of the word "pods" to describe storage containers.

A spokesperson for Teachers declined to comment further on the deal. A statement issued by the pension plan said that Pods will be owned by Teachers' Long-Term Equities group, which looks for investments with solid cash flow, long-term growth potential and limited risk. Teacher plans to keep Pods' management team in place to lead the business.

Interact with The Globe