Elliott Management Has Significant Stake in Public Storage, Sources Say -- Update

By Cara Lombardo 

Elliott Management Corp. has built a significant stake in Public Storage and privately nominated six directors to the self-storage giant's board, according to people familiar with the matter.

Representatives of Elliott and Public Storage, which has a market value of $38 billion, have had multiple discussions in recent weeks about changes that could be made at the company, the people said.

It couldn't be learned exactly what Elliott is pushing for Public Storage's management to do to boost its stock price, which has stumbled in the past few years after a decadeslong march upward. The company's shares are up around 3% this year, compared with a roughly 13% rise in the S&P 500.

Public Storage, recognizable by its bright orange logo, is a Glendale, Calif., real-estate investment trust that specializes in developing, owning and operating self-storage units. Founded in 1972, it was one of the earliest major self-storage companies but has been under pressure as competition from the likes of Extra Space Storage Inc. and CubeSmart heats up.

Elliott submitted its nominations to Public Storage within the past few weeks, ahead of the Dec. 12 close of the four-week window to do so, the people said. Elliott's six nominations account for a minority of Public Storage's 13-person board.

Elliott, which has about $41 billion under management and is one of the most feared activist hedge funds, has shied away from proxy fights in recent years after bruising public clashes with companies including Arconic Inc. and Athenahealth Inc. It has been conducting more activist campaigns behind the scenes and, in the rare cases it chooses to nominate directors, has tended to do so privately.

Write to Cara Lombardo at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 13, 2020 15:30 ET (20:30 GMT)

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