Infrastructure powerhouse Stonepeak has inked a deal to acquire shipping-container titan Textainer, in a transaction that places the latter’s value at a substantial $2.1 billion. The acquisition cost per Textainer share stands at $50 in cash, a significant markup from its closing price of $34.15 last Friday. When accounting for Textainer’s existing debt load, the overall value of the deal balloons to approximately $7.4 billion.
The news was made public on Sunday night, corroborating an earlier scoop by The Wall Street Journal. Textainer, with its Bermuda-based operations, specializes in the purchase, management, and leasing of marine-cargo containers. Boasting around 200 clients, it enjoys a secure position as a long-term supplier to the U.S. military. Founded in 1979 and publicly traded since 2007, Textainer reported a net income of $51.3 million for Q2 of this year. This figure stands in contrast to $78.5 million in Q2 of last year, highlighting a recalibration in the shipping industry following peak demand amid the Covid-19 crisis.
Stonepeak, headquartered in the Big Apple, manages a portfolio exceeding $57 billion, which is spread across sectors like communication, digital infrastructure, and energy. Just this year, they garnered $14 billion for their latest investment vehicle, nearly a two-fold increase from their preceding fund.
In a related move, Stonepeak teamed up with Blue Wolf Capital Partners earlier this month to acquire Logistec, a Canadian marine-cargo handler. This latest acquisition comes at a time when mergers and acquisitions are in a slowdown mode, down by about 20% in the U.S. and nearly 30% on a global scale, according to data from Dealogic. The pinch is particularly felt in the private-equity sphere, where leveraged buyouts have plummeted by almost 40% domestically.
