Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan completes acquisition of PODS®

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Feb. 2, 2015 - PRLog -- The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (Teachers') has finalized the purchase of PODS (http://www.pods.com/), a leader in the moving (http://www.pods.com/Moving.aspx) and storage (http://www.pods.com/Storage.aspx) category. The transaction value is in excess of $1 billion.

The acquisition was led by Teachers' Long-Term Equities group, which focuses on direct investments with steady cash flow, growth potential over a long-term horizon and a low to moderate level of risk.

Founded in 1998, PODS pioneered the portable moving and storage industry and operates in over 150 locations, both corporate and franchise owned, in the US, Canada, Australia and the UK. PODS employs approximately 1,000 corporate employees and has demonstrated a strong track record of growth throughout its history. PODS headquarters will remain in Clearwater, Florida.

PODS President and CEO John B. Koch said, “We are very pleased with the outcome of the sales process and will continue to execute our strategic plan with Teachers’ as our owners. We are looking forward to continued growth as we become part of their world class organization.”

“PODS is a strong fit with Teachers’ investment criteria and we are delighted to add them to our portfolio,” said Lee Sienna, Vice President of Long-Term Equities at Teachers’. “Teachers’ plans to operate PODS as a standalone business operation, retaining the current management team. We are excited about our future together and look forward to supporting the management team to help drive sustained growth for PODS.”

About PODS Enterprises, Inc.
PODS^® is a leader in the moving and storage industry providing both residential and commercial services in 46 U.S. states, Canada, Australia and the UK. Founded in 1998, PODS pioneered the portable moving and storage industry now preferred by many customers’ increasingly active and mobile lifestyles. 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.

About The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
With $140.8 billion in net assets as of December 31, 2013, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada. An independent organization, it invests the pension fund's assets and administers the defined-benefit pensions of 307,000 active and retired teachers in Ontario. For more information, visit www.otpp.com. (http://www.otpp.com/)