Public Storage Defends Growth Plan After Elliott Nominates Directors

By Micah Maidenberg

Public Storage defended its track record on driving growth after activist investor Elliott Management nominated directors for the company's board and criticized the self-storage firm's performance.

"The Public Storage board of trustees and management team are committed to serving the best interests of the company and its shareholders, and will continue to take decisive action to drive sustainable value creation," the company said.

The owner of interests in about 2,500 self-storage facilities covering 171 million rentable square feet in the U.S. said it has expanded its property portfolio, bolstered investment in customer retention and raised more than $3 billion in fresh debt and preferred capital to fund growth and lower capital costs, among other efforts.

The company's total shareholder return over 20 years is 16%, more than double that of the S&P 500 index, it said.

Public Storage also said it has added five new directors to its board over the past 18 months.

Elliott said earlier Monday it believes Public Storage has underperformed, faulting the real estate-investment trust for what it said was a failure to invest aggressively in its business. The investor said the company should refresh its board and nominated six candidates.

Elliott said in a letter that Public Storage has underperformed other self-storage companies "over the last decade, despite having numerous structural advantages."

Write to Micah Maidenberg at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 14, 2020 16:58 ET (21:58 GMT)

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