Investment firm Stonepeak has agreed to buy Textainer Group Holdings, one of the world’s largest container lessors, for $2.1bn.
Textainer shareholders will receive $50 per share in cash, representing a roughly 46% premium over the stock’s closing price of $34.15 per share on Friday.
Textainer has operated since 1979 and is one of the world’s largest lessors of intermodal containers, with more than 4m teu in its owned and managed fleet.
The container leasing company said the transaction represents an enterprise value of around $7.4bn.
“Textainer forms a critical link in global trade,” said James Wyper, senior managing director at Stonepeak.
“The business is underpinned by high-quality assets and contracted cash flows that provide substantial downside protection and resilient through-cycle performance.”
“These characteristics, along with Textainer’s commitment to customers and disciplined approach to capital expenditure, are what make the company a leader in the sector.”
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024, following which the company will delist from the New York Stock Exchange and Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Following the completion of the transaction, Textainer will continue to be led by its president and CEO, Olivier Ghesquiere, and headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.
BofA Securities is serving as financial advisor to Textainer, while O’Melveny & Myers LLP is acting as lead legal counsel.
Deutsche Bank is acting as financial adviser to Stonepeak, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acting as lead legal counsel.
For Stonepeak, which has $57bn of assets under management and typically invests in infrastructure and real assets on behalf of pension funds, endowments and other large institutions, this is its latest investment in the maritime sector.
In 2021, the company acquired US-listed Teekay LNG Partners in a deal worth $6.2bn.
