Business & Money | Wednesday 4 February, 2015 8:28 am |

Arcapita, the global investment management firm, announced today the sale of PODS, Inc. (“PODS”), the leading provider of portable storage and moving solutions for residential and business customers in North America, to the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (“OTPP”) for a transaction value in excess of $1 billion.

PODS is one of the most recognizable brands in the storage and moving industries, with market coverage of nearly 250 million people. The company pioneered the portable moving and storage industry and today operates in over 150 locations, both corporate and franchise owned, in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. To date, the PODS network has completed more than 500,000 long-distance moves, exceeded 2 million deliveries and has more than 150,000 PODS containers in service.

Martin Tan, the Chief Investment Officer of Arcapita said, "Since Arcapita’s acquisition of PODS in December 2007, we have worked to continue the company’s growth profile while also enhancing its operational and network efficiencies.  The management team, working with the PODS board, has captured profitable growth in both the moving and storage divisions of its business, while simultaneously penetrating new market opportunities in the commercial and industrial sectors.  PODS achieved dramatic market share growth, while continually strengthening all aspects of its operational infrastructure.”

Atif A. Abdulmalik, Arcapita’s Chief Executive Officer, said “We are very pleased with the successful outcome of the PODS investment for our investors. For Arcapita, the ability to create value by driving operational and financial improvements in our investment portfolio is a critical success factor. We continue to pursue investments in sectors such as logistics and business services where Arcapita has built a significant track record and capabilities.”

Abdulaziz H. Aljomaih, the Chairman of Arcapita’s Board of Directors, added, “Arcapita has capitalized on favorable market conditions by exiting a number of portfolio investments. By completing the sale of PODS, we have delivered approximately $2 billion in exit proceeds to our investors during the last 18 months. We have an active new deal pipeline and expect to complete a number of new investments over the next few months. The board and management continue their focus on maximizing value for our shareholders and investors”.