Australia's Abacus Storage King gets takeover bid, valuing firm at $1.2 billion

April 7 (Reuters) - Shares of Australia's Abacus Storage King ( ABSKF ) soared to a nearly six-month high after it received an unsolicited takeover offer from a consortium, valuing the firm at A$1.93 billion ($1.16 billion).

The stock jumped more than 15%, its biggest ever intraday percentage gain, to A$1.335 per share value.

The consortium of furniture manufacturer Ki Corporation and Public Storage ( PSA ) has offered A$1.47 per stapled security to Abacus shareholders for all shares not currently held by Ki and its subsidiaries.

The offer represents a 26.7% premium to Abacus' closing share price on Friday.

Ki currently has an indirect and direct interest of nearly 60% in Abacus, which owns and operates self-storage facilities across New Zealand and Australia.

The company comprises Abacus Storage Operations and Abacus Property Trust.

U.S.-based real estate investment trust Public Storage ( PSA ) will hold about 50% of Abacus securities after the deal, while Ki will hold the rest.

The companies are offering "certainty, liquidity, and an attractive premium to minority securityholders" among other benefits to Abacus's employees, customers and additional stakeholders, Public Storage ( PSA ) said.

"The entry of PSA into the Australian market may increase competitiveness in the sub-sector with potential increased capital for expansion and development," Citi analysts said.

In 2020, Public Storage ( PSA ) attempted to enter the Australian market through a $1.25 billion bid for National Storage REIT ( NTSGF ) . However, it was forced to abandon the takeover pursuit because of market conditions caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Meanwhile, Abacus Storage King ( ABSKF ) has formed an independent board committee and commenced an assessment of the proposal.

Abacus Group, a nearly 20% interest holder and the manager of Abacus Storage King ( ABSKF ), said it is separately considering the proposal. ($1 = 1.6694 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Zieminski, Tom Hogue, Lincoln Feast and Sumana Nandy)