S-11/A 1 ds11a.htm AMENDMENT #6 TO FORM S-11 Amendment #6 to Form S-11

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 11, 2004

Registration No. 333-115436


SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 


 

Amendment No. 6 to

Form S-11

FOR REGISTRATION UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

OF SECURITIES OF CERTAIN REAL ESTATE COMPANIES

 

EXTRA SPACE STORAGE INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Governing Instruments)

 


 

2795 East Cottonwood Parkway, Suite 400

Salt Lake City, UT 84121

(801) 562-5556

(Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)

 


 

Kenneth M. Woolley

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Extra Space Storage Inc.

2795 East Cottonwood Parkway, Suite 400

Salt Lake City, UT 84121

(801) 562-5556

(Name, Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)

 


 

Copies to:

Jay L. Bernstein, Esq.

Andrew S. Epstein, Esq.

Clifford Chance US LLP

31 West 52nd Street

New York, New York 10019

(212) 878-8000

 

J. Warren Gorrell, Jr., Esq.

Stuart A. Barr, Esq.

Hogan & Hartson L.L.P.

555 Thirteenth Street, NW

Washington, DC 20004

(202) 637-5600

 


 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:    As soon as practicable after this registration statement becomes effective.

If this form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ¨

If this form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ¨

If this form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ¨

If delivery of this prospectus is expected to be made pursuant to Rule 434, check the following box.  ¨

 

The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to Section 8(a), may determine.



The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and we are not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS   Subject to Completion   August 11, 2004

 

20,200,000 Shares

LOGO

 

Common Stock

 


 

This is our initial public offering of shares of our common stock. We are offering all shares of our common stock. All of the shares being offered by this prospectus are being sold by us. No public market currently exists for our common stock. We intend to elect to qualify as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

The initial offering price of our common stock is expected to be between $13.00 and $15.00 per share. Our shares have been approved for listing subject to official notice of issuance on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “EXR.”

The shares of our common stock are subject to certain restrictions on ownership and transfer intended to preserve our qualification as a REIT. See “Description of Stock—Restrictions on Transfer.”

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Before buying any shares, you should read the discussion of some risks of investing in our common stock in “ Risk Factors” beginning on page 21, including, among others:

Ø   We may not be successful in identifying and consummating suitable acquisitions that meet our criteria, which may impede our growth and negatively affect our results of operations.
Ø   Our ability to pay our estimated initial annual distribution, which represents approximately 140.1% of our estimated cash available for distribution to our common stockholders for the 12 months ending March 31, 2005, depends upon our actual operating results, and we may have to borrow funds under our proposed line of credit to pay this distribution, which could slow our growth.
Ø   We have high concentrations of self-storage properties in the California, Massachusetts and New Jersey markets, and changes in the economic climates of these markets may materially adversely affect us.
Ø   Our operating results will be harmed if we are unable to achieve and sustain high occupancy rates at our 28 lease-up properties.
Ø   Required payments of principal and interest on borrowings may leave us with insufficient cash to operate our properties or to pay the distributions currently contemplated or necessary to maintain our qualification as a REIT and may expose us to the risk of default under our debt obligations.
Ø   Our failure to qualify as a REIT would have significant adverse consequences to us and the value of our stock.
Ø   Upon completion of the offering and the formation transactions, our two largest stockholders, Kenneth M. Woolley, who is our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Spencer F. Kirk, who is one of our other directors, and their respective affiliates will own 5.9% and 8.6%, respectively, of our outstanding common stock on a fully-diluted basis and will have the ability to exercise significant control of our company and any matter presented to our stockholders.
Ø   We could become highly leveraged in the future because our organizational documents contain no limitation on the amount of debt we may incur.

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

     Per Share    Total

Public offering price

   $             $                

Underwriting discounts and commissions(1)

   $             $                

Proceeds, before expenses, to us

   $             $                
(1)   Excludes a financial advisory fee of 0.75% of the public offering price in aggregate payable to UBS Securities LLC and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated.

 

The underwriters may also purchase up to 3,030,000 additional shares of common stock from us at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions, within 30 days from the date of this prospectus. The underwriters may exercise this option only to cover over-allotments, if any.

 

The underwriters are offering the common stock as set forth under “Underwriting.” Delivery of the shares of common stock will be made on or about                     , 2004.

 

 

UBS Investment Bank

  Merrill Lynch & Co.

 


 

A.G. Edwards

Banc of America Securities LLC

Raymond James

RBC Capital Markets

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC


[PICTURES, TEXT AND GRAPHICS FOR INSIDE FRONT COVER]



 

You should rely on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained in this prospectus. We are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, shares of our common stock only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The information contained in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of common stock.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS


 

Prospectus summary

   1

Summary consolidated pro forma and historical financial data

   18

Risk factors

   21

Statements regarding forward-looking information

   39

Use of proceeds

   40

Distribution policy

   43

Capitalization

   47

Dilution

   48

Selected consolidated pro forma and historical financial data

   50

Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations

   55

Formation transactions

   76

Business and properties

   83

Management

   105

 

Certain relationships and related transactions

   117

Benefits to related parties

   119

Policies with respect to certain activities

   124

Principal stockholders

   129

Description of stock

   131

Certain provisions of Maryland law and of our charter and bylaws

   138

Extra Space Storage LP partnership agreement

   143

Shares eligible for future sale

   147

U.S. federal income tax considerations

   149

ERISA considerations

   169

Underwriting

   173

Legal matters

   177

Experts

   177

Where you can find more information

   177

Index to financial statements

   F-1

 

Through and including                      , 2004 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), federal securities laws may require all dealers that effect transactions in our common stock, whether or not participating in the offering, to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.

 


 

i


Prospectus summary

 

You should read the following summary together with the more detailed information regarding our company, including under the caption “Risk Factors,” and the historical and pro forma financial statements, including the related notes, appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. Unless the context otherwise requires or indicates, references in this prospectus to “Extra Space Storage,” “we,” “our company,” “our” and “us” refer to Extra Space Storage Inc., a Maryland corporation, together with our consolidated subsidiaries, including Extra Space Storage LP, a Delaware limited partnership, which we refer to in this prospectus as our “operating partnership,” Extra Space Management, Inc., a Utah corporation, which we refer to in this prospectus as our “taxable REIT subsidiary,” and Extra Space Storage LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and its affiliates which we refer to in this prospectus as the “Extra Space Predecessor” or “our predecessor.” Unless the context otherwise indicates, the information about our company assumes that the formation transactions described in this prospectus have been completed. In addition, the information contained in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised, and the common stock to be sold in the offering is sold at $14.00 per share, which is the mid-point of the price range indicated on the cover page of this prospectus. References to “common stock” exclude contingent conversion shares, or CCSs, unless otherwise indicated.

 

OVERVIEW

 

We are a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust formed to continue the business commenced in 1977 by our predecessor companies to own, operate, acquire, develop and redevelop professionally managed self-storage properties. Since 1996, our fully integrated development and acquisition teams have completed the development or acquisition of more than 100 self-storage properties and continue to evaluate a range of new growth initiatives and opportunities for our company. To enable us to maximize revenue generating opportunities for our properties, we employ a state-of-the-art proprietary web-based tracking and yield management technology called STORE. Developed by our management team, STORE enables us to analyze, set and adjust rental rates in real time across our portfolio in order to respond to changing market conditions.

 

Upon completion of the offering and the formation transactions, we will own and operate 136 self-storage properties located in 20 states, 118 of which are wholly owned and 18 of which are held in joint ventures with third parties, and we also manage for unaffiliated third parties an additional nine properties. Our properties are generally situated in convenient, highly-visible locations regionally clustered around high-density, high-income population centers, such as Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/Northern New Jersey and San Francisco. Our properties contain an aggregate of approximately 8.9 million net rentable square feet of space configured in approximately 84,800 separate storage units. As of May 31, 2004, our stabilized portfolio (which consists of 108 properties) was on average 87.4% occupied, while our lease-up portfolio (which consists of 28 properties) was on average 62.4% occupied. We consider a property to be in the lease-up stage after it has been issued a certificate of occupancy but before it has achieved stabilization. We consider a property to be stabilized once it either has achieved an 85% occupancy rate, or has been open for four years. Over the next 24 months, we expect our lease-up properties to achieve 85% occupancy, which we believe is in-line with lease-up periods typical in the self-storage industry.

 

As of May 31, 2004, we had more than 70,000 tenants leasing storage units at our 136 properties, primarily on a month-to-month basis, providing us with flexibility to increase rental rates over time as market conditions permit. Although our leases are short-term in duration, our typical tenant tends to

 

1


remain at our properties for an extended period of time. For properties that were stabilized as of May 31, 2004, the average length of stay for our tenants was approximately 16 months.

 

Members of our senior management team have significant experience in all aspects of the self-storage industry, with an average of more than nine years of industry experience. Our senior management team has collectively acquired and/or developed more than 176 properties during the past 25 years for our predecessor and other entities. Kenneth M. Woolley, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Richard S. Tanner, our Senior Vice President, East Coast Development, have worked in the self-storage industry since 1977 and led two of the earlier self-storage facility development projects in the United States. In addition, eight members of our management team have worked together for our predecessors for more than five years. Members of this management team have guided our predecessor through substantial growth, developing and acquiring $699.0 million in assets since 1996. Our senior management team funded this growth with internal funds and more than $245.0 million raised in private equity capital since 1998, largely from sophisticated, high net-worth individuals and institutional investors such as affiliates of Prudential Financial, Inc. and Fidelity Investments. Mr. Woolley, along with Spencer F. Kirk, one of our directors, and our senior executive officers may be considered promoters with respect to the company. See “Management—Directors and Executive Officers.”

 

Our principal corporate offices are located at 2795 East Cottonwood Parkway, Suite 400, Salt Lake City, Utah 84121, our website address is www.extraspace.com and our telephone number is (801) 562-5556. The information included in our website is not considered to be a part of this prospectus. Upon completion of the offering and the formation transactions, substantially all of our business will be conducted through Extra Space Storage LP, our operating partnership, and our primary assets will be our general partner and limited partner interests in Extra Space Storage LP. This structure is commonly referred to as an umbrella partnership REIT, or UPREIT.

 

THE SELF-STORAGE INDUSTRY

 

Self-storage refers to properties that offer do-it-yourself, month-to-month storage space rental for personal or business use. Self-storage provides a convenient way for individuals and businesses to store their possessions, whether due to a life-change, or simply because of a need for extra storage space. According to the 2004 Self-Storage Almanac, there were approximately 37,000 self-storage properties in the United States in 2003 with an average occupancy rate of 84.6%, compared with approximately 19,500 U.S. self-storage properties in 1992 with an average occupancy rate of 84.8%. As population densities have increased in the United States, there has been an increase in self-storage awareness and development, which we expect will continue in the future.

 

The self-storage industry is also characterized by fragmented ownership. According to the 2004 Self-Storage Almanac, as of December 31, 2003, the top five and top 50 self-storage companies in the United States owned only approximately 10.2% and 15.7%, respectively, of the total U.S. self-storage properties. We believe this market fragmentation will provide opportunities for continued consolidation in the self-storage industry, particularly for well-capitalized, publicly-traded companies with experienced acquisition teams.

 

We have found that the factors most important to tenants when choosing a self-storage site are a convenient location, a clean environment, friendly service and a professional helpful staff. Our experience also indicates that successfully competing in the self-storage industry requires an experienced and dedicated management team that is supported by an efficient and flexible operating platform that is responsive to tenants’ needs and expectations.

 

2


COMPETITIVE STRENGTHS

 

We believe we distinguish ourselves from other owners, operators and developers of self-storage properties in a number of ways and enjoy significant competitive strengths, which include:

 

Ø Geographic Diversity Combined with Concentration in Strong Markets.

 

Our properties are generally situated in convenient, highly-visible locations clustered around large population centers such as Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/Northern New Jersey and San Francisco. The clustering of our assets around these population centers enables us to reduce our operating costs through economies of scale. At the same time, we believe that the significant size and overall geographic diversification of our portfolio reduces risks associated with economic downturns or natural disasters in any one market in which we operate.

 

Ø Strong Property and Operating Management Capabilities.

 

We have developed and utilize a comprehensive centralized approach to property and operational management to maximize the operating performance of our properties. We use STORE to support all aspects of our property management operations, enabling our management team to centrally analyze, set and adjust rental rates in real time on a case-by-case basis across our entire portfolio to maximize revenue-generating opportunities.

 

Ø Consumer Oriented Marketing Approach.

 

Our property management and operations groups are supported by our marketing team that provides sales, marketing and advertising support for our properties and operations. We employ highly targeted direct response marketing programs, such as direct mail and coupon mailers, in combination with more broad-based marketing initiatives such as advertising in the Yellow Pages and on the internet.

 

Ø Successful Acquirer and Developer of Properties.

 

Our fully-integrated development and acquisition teams have completed the development or acquisition of more than 100 different self-storage properties since 1996. In addition, we have entered into agreements to acquire 29 properties from unaffiliated third parties upon completion of the offering. We believe that we have developed a reputation as a trusted and reliable buyer. In addition, following completion of the offering and the formation transactions, we expect to be one of only two publicly-traded REITs in the self-storage industry that is organized in the UPREIT format, which will enable us to acquire new properties from tax-deferred transactions.

 

Ø Experienced Senior Management Team.

 

Our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kenneth M. Woolley, and our co-founder, Richard S. Tanner, have been in the self-storage business for more than 25 years. Together, they have acquired or developed more than 176 self-storage properties. Our senior management team has an average of more than nine years of self-storage experience.

 

Ø Nationally-Recognized Institutional Joint Venture Partners.

 

We have developed and/or acquired more than 70 properties since 1999 employing strategic joint ventures with nationally-recognized institutional investors such as affiliates of Prudential Financial, Inc. and Fidelity Investments. We believe our reputation for quality within our industry, and our management and development expertise, make us an attractive strategic partner for institutional investors.

 

3


BUSINESS AND GROWTH STRATEGIES

 

Our primary business objectives are to maximize cash flow available for distribution to our stockholders and to achieve sustainable long-term growth in cash flow per share in order to maximize long-term stockholder value. Our business strategy to achieve these objectives consists of the following elements:

 

Ø Maximize Cash Flow at Our Properties.

 

We will seek to maximize revenue generating opportunities by responding to changing local market conditions through interactive yield management of the rental rates at our properties.

 

Ø Pursue Opportunities to Acquire Privately-Held Self-Storage Portfolios.

 

We intend to selectively acquire, for cash or by utilizing units in our operating partnership as acquisition currency, privately-held self-storage portfolios and single self-storage assets in our target markets.

 

Ø Strategically Select and Develop Sites.

 

We plan to continue to expand also by selecting and developing new self-storage properties with cost-effective, appealing construction in desirable areas based on specific data, including visibility and convenience of location, market occupancy and rental rates, market saturation, traffic count, household density, median household income, barriers to entry and future demographic and migration trends. As of July 15, 2004 we had 12 undeveloped parcels of land under contract that we believe are suitable for new property developments and are proceeding with the requisite due diligence for these properties. We also have a right of first refusal with respect to sales of the interests in the 13 early-stage development properties owned by Extra Space Development LLC and the two early-stage lease-up stage properties owned by third party individuals as well as certain of our executive officers and directors. We also are currently reviewing more than 22 other sites that we believe may also be suitable development candidates.

 

Ø Continue Joint Venture Strategy to Pursue Development Opportunities and Enhance Returns.

 

We plan to grow our business by continuing our development activities in conjunction with our joint venture partners, while mitigating the risks normally associated with early-stage development and lease-up activities. Where appropriate, we will also seek to acquire properties in a capital efficient manner in conjunction with our joint venture partners.

 

SUMMARY RISK FACTORS

 

You should carefully consider the matters discussed in the section “Risk Factors” beginning on page 21 prior to deciding whether to invest in our common stock. Some of the risks include:

 

Ø   We may not be successful in identifying and consummating suitable acquisitions that meet our criteria, which may impede our growth and negatively affect our results of operations.

 

Ø   Our ability to pay our estimated initial annual distribution, which represents approximately 140.1% of our estimated cash available for distribution to our common stockholders for the 12 months ending March 31, 2005, depends upon our actual operating results, and we may have to borrow funds under our proposed line of credit to pay this distribution, which could slow our growth.

 

Ø   We have high concentrations of self-storage properties in the California, Massachusetts and New Jersey markets, and changes in the economic climates of these markets may materially adversely affect us.

 

Ø   Our operating results will be harmed if we are unable to achieve and sustain high occupancy rates at our 28 lease-up properties.

 

4


Ø   Required payments of principal and interest on borrowings may leave us with insufficient cash to operate our properties or to pay the distributions currently contemplated or necessary to maintain our qualification as a REIT and may expose us to the risk of default under our debt obligations.

 

Ø   Our failure to qualify as a REIT would have significant adverse consequences to us and the value of our stock.

 

Ø   Upon completion of the offering and the formation transactions, our two largest stockholders, Kenneth M. Woolley, who is our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Spencer F. Kirk, who is one of our other directors, and their respective affiliates will own 5.9% and 8.6%, respectively, of our outstanding common stock on a fully-diluted basis and will have the ability to exercise significant control of our company and any matter presented to our stockholders.

 

Ø   Kenneth M. Woolley, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Spencer F. Kirk, one of our directors, and Richard S. Tanner, Kent Christensen, Charles L. Allen, David Rasmussen and Timothy Arthurs, members of our senior management, have outside business interests which could divert their time and attention away from us, which could harm our business.

 

Ø   Our business could be harmed if key personnel with long-standing business relationships in the self-storage industry terminate their employment with us.

 

Ø   Our investments in development and redevelopment projects may not yield anticipated returns, which would harm our operating results and reduce the amount of funds available for distributions.

 

Ø   We may assume unknown liabilities in connection with the formation transactions.

 

Ø   If you purchase shares of common stock in the offering, you will experience immediate and significant dilution in the book value of our common stock offered in the offering equal to $5.55 per share.

 

Ø   We could become highly leveraged in the future because our organizational documents contain no limitation on the amount of debt we may incur.

 

5


OWNED PROPERTIES

 

Upon completion of the offering and the formation transactions, we will own and operate 136 self-storage properties located in 20 states, 118 of which are wholly owned and 18 of which are held in joint ventures with third parties. The following tables set forth summary information regarding our 108 stabilized and our 28 lease-up properties:

 

Stabilized Property Data

 

     Number of

  

Net Rentable
Square Feet

  

Occupancy Rate
at May 31,
2004(1)

   

Occupancy
Rate at
December 31,
2003(1)

 
State    Properties    Units        

Wholly Owned Properties:

                           

California

   18    11,175    1,166,967    88.9 %   88.1 %

Massachusetts

   19    9,538    1,033,585    81.6 %   78.8 %

Florida

   14    9,394    941,656    90.3 %   87.7 %

New Jersey

   10    8,172    805,048    87.8 %   85.8 %

Texas

   7    4,287    463,143    85.7 %   85.2 %

Georgia

   5    2,688    357,228    85.2 %   83.1 %

Pennsylvania

   4    2,122    246,551    85.7 %   86.3 %

South Carolina

   4    2,090    246,969    91.8 %   88.7 %

Colorado

   4    1,801    231,608    86.1 %   82.8 %

Louisiana

   2    1,411    147,900    92.5 %   90.1 %

Missouri

   2    808    97,517    90.1 %   89.8 %

Virginia

   1    551    73,310    91.4 %   78.6 %

Utah

   1    551    72,750    87.6 %   79.5 %

New Hampshire

   1    623    72,600    86.3 %   91.6 %

New York

   1    1,270    58,526    89.1 %   87.5 %

Arizona

   1    480    57,630    98.2 %   84.1 %

Nevada

   1    460    56,500    88.8 %   90.1 %
    
  
  
            

Total Wholly Owned Properties

   95    57,421    6,129,488    87.2 %   84.8 %
    
  
  
            

Properties Held in Joint Ventures:

                           

California

   7    3,851    400,363    89.4 %   87.3 %

New Hampshire

   2    801    83,675    90.6 %   87.1 %

New Jersey

   2    1,737    166,845    83.0 %   81.3 %

New York

   2    1,515    136,919    86.0 %   83.7 %
    
  
  
            

Total Properties Held in Joint Ventures

   13    7,904    787,802    87.6 %   85.4 %
    
  
  
            

Total Stabilized Properties

   108    65,325    6,917,290    87.4 %   84.9 %
    
  
  
            

(1)   Occupancy rate is the total occupied square feet divided by total net rentable square feet.

 

6


Lease-Up Property Data

 

     Number of

  

Net Rentable

Square Feet

  

Occupancy Rate

at May 31,
2004(1)

   

Occupancy Rate

at December 31,
2003(1)

 
State    Properties    Units        

Wholly Owned Properties:

                           

Massachusetts

   6    3,511    375,505    45.7 %   39.0 %

California

   4    2,319    267,622    63.5 %   51.2 %

New York

   3    2,522    207,821    65.2 %   62.1 %

New Jersey

   3    2,584    201,223    52.6 %   42.2 %

Pennsylvania

   2    1,473    186,154    82.5 %   82.7 %

Illinois

   2    1,140    145,315    51.6 %   40.1 %

Maryland

   1    925    144,980    75.8 %   82.2 %

Connecticut

   2    1,377    124,540    44.9 %   51.0 %
    
  
  
            

Total Wholly Owned Properties

   23    15,851    1,653,160    59.1 %   53.3 %
    
  
  
            

Properties Held in Joint Ventures:

                           

California

   2    1,412    150,415    80.9 %   67.6 %

Pennsylvania

   1    916    73,125    78.6 %   70.7 %

New York

   1    657    60,070    78.7 %   74.4 %

New Jersey

   1    664    58,650    78.8 %   71.0 %
    
  
  
            

Total Properties Held in Joint Ventures

   5    3,649    342,260    78.6 %   70.7 %
    
  
  
            

Total Lease-Up Properties

   28    19,500    1,995,420    62.4 %   56.5 %
    
  
  
            

(1)   Occupancy rate is the total occupied square feet divided by total net rentable square feet.

 

FORMATION TRANSACTIONS

 

We currently conduct our business relating to the ownership, operation, acquisition, development and redevelopment of self-storage properties through our predecessor, Extra Space Storage LLC, which is organized as a Delaware limited liability company, and certain affiliated companies. The ownership interests in Extra Space Storage LLC consist of Class A (voting and non-voting), Class B, Class C and Class E membership interests, which are held by Kenneth M. Woolley, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and his affiliates, other members of our senior management team and their affiliates, certain of our employees, and other third-party investors. We refer to the Class A, Class B, Class C and Class E membership interests collectively as the “membership interests.” Our existing portfolio of properties is held directly by Extra Space Storage LLC, by its wholly owned subsidiaries or in joint ventures with third-party investors. A transfer of assets to the company will be accounted for at the predecessor’s historical cost as a transfer of assets between companies under common control.

 

Contribution and Exchange by Members of Extra Space Storage LLC

 

Prior to or concurrently with the closing of the offering, we will engage in a series of transactions, which we refer to in this prospectus as the formation transactions, that are intended to reorganize our company, facilitate the offering, refinance our existing indebtedness and allow the owners of our predecessor and certain affiliated companies to exchange their existing membership interests for 8,095,003 shares of common stock, 1,573,557 units of limited partnership interests in our operating partnership, or OP units, 3,437,564 CCSs and 213,230 contingent conversion units, or CCUs, which we refer to collectively in this section as equity securities, and $26.8 million in cash. Pursuant to this exchange, we will acquire our predecessor, including its portfolio of 107 properties, which includes 14 early-stage lease-up properties. We will issue the CCSs and CCUs in exchange for the contribution by the owners of our

 

7


predecessor of their indirect interest in 14 early-stage lease-up properties which we will wholly own through various subsidiaries of our operating partnership upon completion of the offering and the formation transactions.

 

CCSs and CCUs will generally not carry any voting rights or entitle their holders to receive distributions. Upon the achievement of certain performance thresholds relating to the 14 lease-up properties described above, all or a portion of the CCSs and the CCUs will be automatically converted into shares of our common stock or OP units, as described elsewhere in this prospectus. Initially, each CCS and CCU will be convertible on a one-for-one basis into shares of common stock or OP units, subject to customary anti-dilution adjustments. These performance thresholds have been structured to result in the conversion of CCSs into shares of common stock and CCUs into OP units on a proportionate basis as the net operating income produced by the 14 early-stage lease-up properties grows from $5.1 million to $9.7 million over any of the 12-month measurement periods commencing with the 12 months ending March 31, 2006 and ending with the 12 months ending December 31, 2008. For the 12-month period ended March 31, 2004, the net operating income produced by these lease-up properties (which were 37.5% occupied on a weighted average basis as of the end of this period) totaled $142,484. This means that none of the CCS or CCUs will convert into shares of common stock or OP units until the net operating income produced by these lease up properties is in excess of $5.1 million over any of the 12-month measurement periods. No CCSs or CCUs will be convertible prior to March 31, 2006 nor for any measurement period after December 31, 2008. See “Formation Transactions—Contribution and Exchange by Members of Extra Space Storage LLC,” “Description of Stock—Contingent Conversion Shares” and “Extra Space Storage LP Partnership Agreement—Contingent Conversion Units.”

 

Based upon the initial public offering price of our common stock, the aggregate value of the shares of common stock and OP units to be issued in the formation transactions is approximately $135.4 million, which is in addition to the approximately $26.8 million in cash that will be paid to certain unaffiliated third-party holders of the Class A, Class B and Class C membership interests. Further, the aggregate value of the CCSs and CCUs issued in the formation transactions is approximately $51.1 million, assuming conversion of all such CCSs and CCUs. The aggregate historical combined net tangible book value of the Class A, Class B and Class C membership interests to be contributed to us was approximately $0, $0 and $4.7 million, respectively, as of March 31, 2004. The existing holders of membership interests in Extra Space Storage LLC who will receive equity securities include members of our board of directors and members of our senior management team. The aggregate number of equity securities to be received by each such person and his or her affiliates and the net tangible book value attributable to the membership interests to be contributed to us are set forth below under the heading “Benefits to Related Parties.”

 

Joint Venture Restructuring

 

In connection with the formation transactions, we have acquired or will acquire the interests of our joint venture partners in all but three of our existing joint ventures to be funded in part out of the net proceeds of the offering. Our operating partnership has acquired or will acquire the joint venture interests held by various third parties unrelated to our management, for an aggregate of $114.8 million in cash and OP units having an aggregate value (based on the initial public offering price) of approximately $14.0 million.

 

Extra Space Development LLC

 

Effective January 1, 2004, our predecessor distributed to certain holders of its Class A membership interests, 100% of the membership interests in Extra Space Development LLC, which was previously a wholly owned subsidiary of our predecessor. Extra Space Development LLC owns, and upon completion of the offering and the formation transactions will continue to own, interests in 13 early-stage development

 

8


wholly owned subsidiary of our predecessor. Extra Space Development LLC owns, and upon completion of the offering and the formation transactions will continue to own, interests in 13 early-stage development properties and two parcels of undeveloped land, which are currently subject to significant construction-related indebtedness and have been incurring substantial development-related expenditures. Extra Space Development LLC has granted us a right of first refusal with respect to its interests in the 13 properties described above. Extra Space Development LLC will continue to hold its interests in 13 properties to which we hold a right of first refusal upon the completion of the formation transactions. Extra Space Development LLC intends to enter into agreements with third parties to receive management and development services. Extra Space Development LLC is owned by third-party individuals, as well as by executive officers and directors in the following approximate percentages: Kenneth M. Woolley (33%), Spencer F. Kirk (33%), Richard S. Tanner (7%), Kent Christensen (3%), Charles L. Allen (2%), David L. Rasmussen (0.5%) and Timothy Arthurs (0.5%). For financial reporting purposes, our predecessor continues to consolidate these properties pursuant to certain financial guarantees. These properties will be de-consolidated upon the elimination of the guarantees prior to completion of the offering.

 

Acquisition of Storage Spot Properties

 

Effective May 28, 2004, Extra Space Storage LLC entered into a purchase and sale agreement with Storage Spot Properties No. 1, L.P. and Storage Spot Properties No. 4, L.P. for the acquisition of 26 self-storage properties for which the purchase price under this agreement is $147.0 million. For the year ended December 31, 2003, the net revenues less bad debt expenses for these properties totaled $16.0 million. None of the sellers are currently our affiliates. Hugh W. Horne is president of Storage World Properties GP No. 1, LLC and Storage World Properties GP No. 4, LLC, the general partners of the selling parties under the agreement. In connection with this transaction, we agreed to name Mr. Horne as a director of our company effective upon the closing of this offering. Additionally, if at any time prior to February 15, 2006, Hugh W. Horne is not serving as one of our directors, Storage Spot shall have the right to have one representative present at all meetings of our board of directors and all of our board committees during such time. The purchase and sale agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants and is subject to customary closing conditions (such as those relating to the accuracy of representations and warranties and the performance of covenants contained in the purchase and sale agreement) as well as the completion of the offering. Our predecessor has deposited $3.0 million in escrow under the purchase and sale agreement. Storage Spot may be entitled to receive up to an additional $5.0 million cash consideration depending upon the performance of the 26 properties for the 12 months ending December 31, 2005. Under this earn-out provision, we have agreed to pay in February 2006, $8.45 for each dollar that the net revenues from these properties for calendar year 2005 exceeds $17.9 million, up to a maximum of $5.0 million. The entire $5.0 million is also payable upon the occurrence of certain other conditions, including any change of control of the purchaser or a third-party sale of any of the 26 properties prior to December 31, 2005. Our predecessor’s obligation to pay any additional funds will be guaranteed by our operating partnership. Subject to customary closing conditions, including the completion of due diligence, we expect this transaction to close concurrently with the completion of the offering and to be funded with the net proceeds of the offering. See “Use of Proceeds.”

 

Centershift, Inc.

 

Effective January 1, 2004, we entered into a license agreement with Centershift, Inc. which secures for our company a perpetual right to continue to enjoy the benefits of STORE in all aspects of our property acquisition, development, redevelopment and operational activities, while the cost of maintaining the infrastructure required to support this product remains the responsibility of Centershift. This license agreement provides for an annual license fee payable by us which we estimate for the year ending December 31, 2004 will aggregate approximately $130,000, in exchange for which we will receive all

 

9


Centershift is required to secure our consent before entering into a license covering STORE with other publicly-traded self-storage companies. Centershift is owned by third-party individuals, as well as by executive officers and directors in the following approximate percentages: Kenneth M. Woolley (28%), Spencer F. Kirk (29%), Richard S. Tanner (7%), Kent Christensen (3%), Charles L. Allen (2%), David L. Rasmussen (0.4%) and Timothy Arthurs (0.4%).

 

OUR STRUCTURE

 

The following chart reflects our corporate organization upon completion of the offering and the formation transactions:

LOGO

 

10


BENEFITS TO RELATED PARTIES

 

Upon completion of the offering and the formation transactions, our senior executive officers and members of our board of directors will receive material financial and other benefits, as shown below. For a more detailed discussion of these benefits see “Management,” “Benefits to Related Parties” and “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions.”

 

Formation Transactions

 

In connection with the formation transactions, the following executive officers, directors and director nominees of our company will exchange membership interests in our predecessor for securities in our company and in our operating partnership, as described below:

 

Name


  

Securities Received


Kenneth M. Woolley

   Together with his affiliates, 1,664,309 shares of common stock, 150,413 OP units, 706,755 CCSs and 63,873 CCUs (with a combined aggregate value of approximately $36.2 million) in exchange for membership interests having an aggregate net tangible book value attributable to such interests as of March 31, 2004 of approximately $0.5 million.

Spencer F. Kirk

   Together with his affiliates, 2,425,137 shares of common stock and 1,029,842 CCSs (with a combined aggregate value of approximately $48.4 million) in exchange for membership interests having an aggregate net tangible book value attributable to such interests as of March 31, 2004 of approximately zero dollars.

Kent W. Christensen

   146,458 shares of common stock and 62,194 CCSs (with a combined aggregate value of approximately $2.9 million) in exchange for membership interests having an aggregate net tangible book value attributable to such interests as of March 31, 2004 of approximately zero dollars.

Charles L. Allen

   117,984 shares of common stock and 50,102 CCSs (with a combined aggregate value of approximately $2.4 million) in exchange for membership interests having an aggregate net tangible book value attributable to such interests as of March 31, 2004 of approximately $0.03 million.

Timothy Arthurs

   38,462 shares of common stock and 16,333 CCSs (with a combined aggregate value of approximately $0.77 million) in exchange for membership interests having an aggregate net tangible book value attributable to such interests as of March 31, 2004 of approximately $0.02 million.

David L. Rasmussen

   29,704 shares of common stock and 12,614 CCSs (with a combined aggregate value of approximately $0.59 million) in exchange for membership interests having an aggregate net tangible book value attributable to such interests as of March 31, 2004 of approximately zero dollars.

Richard S. Tanner

   Together with his affiliates, 494,153 shares of common stock, 50,138 OP units, 209,844 CCSs and 21,291 CCUs (with a combined aggregate value of approximately $10.8 million) in exchange membership interests having an aggregate net tangible book value attributable to such interests as of March 31, 2004 of approximately $0.04 million.

Anthony Fanticola

   531,676 shares of common stock and 225,776 CCSs (with a combined aggregate value of approximately $10.6 million ) to affiliates of Anthony Fanticola in exchange for membership interests having an aggregate net tangible book value attributable to such interests as of March 31, 2004 of approximately $0.5 million.

 

11


Name


  

Securities Received


Roger B. Porter

   213,209 shares of common stock and 90,540 CCSs (with a combined aggregate value of approximately $4.25 million) in exchange for membership interests having an aggregate net tangible book value attributable to such interests as of March 31, 2004 of approximately $0.4 million.

 

Release of Guarantees

 

Upon completion of the offering and the formation transactions, the following individuals will be released from guarantees related to the indebtedness described below:

 

Name


  

Guarantees Released


Kenneth M. Woolley

   Release of guarantees of approximately $64.9 million of outstanding indebtedness.

Spencer F. Kirk

   Release of guarantees of approximately $17.3 million of outstanding indebtedness.

 

Employment Agreements

 

Upon closing of the offering, Kenneth M. Woolley, Kent W. Christensen and Charles L. Allen each will enter into an employment agreement with our company each of which will have a term of three years, with automatic one year renewals and will provide for an annual base salary, eligibility for annual bonuses, eligibility for participation in our 2004 long-term stock incentive plan and participation in all of the employee benefit plans and arrangements made available by us to our similarly situated executives.

 

Stock Options

 

Upon closing of the offering, stock options, with a vesting period of four years, will be granted to the following individuals to purchase the number of shares of our common stock set forth below, with an exercise price equal to the initial public offering price:

 

Name


  

Number
of Options


Kenneth M. Woolley

   150,000

Spencer F. Kirk

     30,000

Kent W. Christensen

   100,000

Charles L. Allen

     65,000

Timothy Arthurs

     65,000

David L. Rasmussen

     45,000

Richard S. Tanner

     45,000

Anthony Fanticola

     30,000

Hugh W. Horne

     30,000

Dean Jernigan

     30,000

Roger B. Porter

     30,000

K. Fred Skousen

     30,000
    

Total

   650,000
    

 

Acquisition of Extra Space Management, Inc.

 

In order to bring our predecessor’s employees and employee benefit programs within our organizational structure, on March 31, 2004, our predecessor acquired Extra Space Management, Inc. from Kenneth M. Woolley, Spencer M. Kirk and Richard S. Tanner for an aggregate of approximately $184,000. Upon the completion of the offering and the formation transactions, Extra Space Management, Inc. will become our taxable REIT subsidiary and will be responsible for all property management operations that we perform for properties owned by third parties.

 

12


Registration Rights Agreement

 

As holders of OP units, common stock and/or CCSs, our executive officers and directors will receive registration rights with respect to shares of our common stock acquired by them.

 

Repayment of a Note

 

We will use approximately $4.0 million of the net proceeds of the offering to repay a note held by Anthony and Joann Fanticola, cotrustees of the Anthony and Joann Fanticola Trust. We have also agreed to pay $1.1 million in defeasance fees on behalf of Mr. Fanticola.

 

Aircraft Dry Lease

 

SpenAero, L.L.C., an affiliate of Spencer F. Kirk, will enter into an Aircraft Dry Lease with us which provides that we have the right to use a 2002 Falcon 50EX aircraft owned by SpenAero, L.L.C. at a rate of $1,740 for each hour of use by us of the aircraft and the payment of all taxes by us associated with our use of the aircraft.

 

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

 

Following completion of the offering and the formation transactions, conflicts of interest will exist between our directors and executive officers and our company as described below.

 

We have entered into certain tax protection agreements with Kenneth M. Woolley and Richard S. Tanner which may limit our ability to sell certain of our properties. See “Certain relationships and related transactions—Description of tax indemnity and debt guarantees.”

 

Certain members of our senior management team have outside business interests which include the ownership of Extra Space Development LLC. See “Formation transactions—Extra Space Development LLC.”

 

Our senior management team will own CCSs and/or CCUs. Our management’s ownership of CCSs and CCUs may cause them to devote a disproportionate amount of time to the performance of the 14 early-stage lease-up properties associated with the CCSs and CCUs. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related To Our Organization and Structure.”

 

Certain of our directors and members of our senior management have direct or indirect ownership interests in certain properties to be contributed to our operating partnership in the formation transactions. Accordingly, to the extent these individuals are parties to any of our contribution agreements, we may pursue less vigorous enforcement of the terms of these agreements. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related To Our Organization and Structure.”

 

Additional conflicts of interest could arise in the future as a result of the relationships between us and our affiliates, on the one hand, and our operating partnership or any partner thereof, on the other. Our directors and officers have duties to our company and our stockholders under applicable Maryland law in connection with their management of our company. At the same time, we, as a general partner of our operating partnership through a wholly owned Massachusetts business trust, have fiduciary duties to our operating partnership and to the limited partners under Delaware law in connection with the management of our operating partnership. Our duties as a general partner to our operating partnership and its partners may come into conflict with the duties of our directors and officers to our company and our stockholders. The partnership agreement of our operating partnership does not require us to resolve such conflicts in favor of either our stockholders or the limited partners of our operating partnership.

 

13


We have adopted policies that are designed to eliminate or minimize potential conflicts of interest. See “Policies with respect to certain activities—Conflicts of Interest Policies.”

 

PROPOSED LINE OF CREDIT

 

We have received commitments from a group of banks, led by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and including Bank of America, N.A., La Salle Bank National Association and Wachovia Bank, N.A., for a $100.0 million line of credit. Subject to the completion of definitive loan documentation and the completion of due diligence, we expect to close this line of credit immediately following the completion of the offering. The line of credit provides for availability of up to 70.0% of the appraised value of the 17 properties securing the line of credit. The line is also limited by debt service coverage tests on each property, calculated for the prior two quarters of operating income for each property. Based on the recent appraisals of these 17 properties and the prior two quarters of activity, we expect to have approximately $56.0 million of availability under the line of credit upon completion of the offering. To increase availability under this line of credit, we would need to increase the operating income at the properties securing the line of credit or add additional properties as security. We are currently in discussions with the lenders under this line of credit to add an additional two to three properties to the pool of assets securing this line of credit, which we believe will increase the borrowing capacity under this line of credit by approximately $18.0 million. There can be no assurances that the lenders will agree to increase their commitments under this line of credit. We expect to use this line of credit to fund the equity portion of acquisitions and our investments in joint venture development projects.

 

OUR OWNERSHIP LIMIT

 

Due to limitations on the concentration of ownership of REIT stock imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Internal Revenue Code, our charter documents generally prohibit any person (other than an excepted holder or designated investment entity) from actually or constructively owning more than 7.0% (by value or by number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of our common stock or 7.0% (by value or by number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of our outstanding capital stock. Our charter permits exceptions to be made for stockholders provided our board of directors determines such exceptions will not jeopardize our tax status as a REIT. In addition, different ownership limits will apply to the family of Kenneth M. Woolley, certain of its affiliates, and estates and trusts formed for the benefit of the foregoing and Spencer F. Kirk, certain of his affiliates, family members and estates and trusts formed for the benefit of the foregoing. These ownership limits, which our board has determined will not jeopardize our REIT status, will allow the the family of Kenneth M. Woolley, certain of its affiliates and estates and trusts formed for the benefit of the foregoing, as an excepted holder, to hold 15.5% (by value or by number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of our common stock or 15.5% (by value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of our outstanding capital stock and Spencer F. Kirk, certain of his affiliates, family members and estates and trusts formed for the benefit of the foregoing as an excepted holder, to hold 13.4% (by value or by number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of our common stock or 13.4% (by value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of our outstanding capital stock. Furthermore, certain designated investment entities, as defined in our charter generally to include pension funds, mutual funds and certain investment management companies, will have an ownership limit of 9.8% of our common stock, provided that beneficial owners of the common stock held by such entity would satisfy the 7.0% ownership limit after application of the relevant attribution rules. Certain designated investment entities, as defined in our charter generally to include pension funds, mutual funds and certain investment management companies, will have an ownership limit of 9.8% (by value or by number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of our common stock or 9.8% (by value or by number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of our outstanding capital stock.

 

14


OUR TAX STATUS

 

We intend to elect to qualify as a REIT under Sections 856 through 860 of the Internal Revenue Code, commencing with our taxable year ending December 31, 2004. We believe that we are organized in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT and that our proposed method of operation will enable us to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We have received an opinion of Clifford Chance US LLP to the effect that commencing with our taxable year ending December 31, 2004, we have been organized in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code, and that our proposed method of operation will enable us to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT.

 

To maintain our REIT status, we must meet a number of organizational and operational requirements, including a requirement that we annually distribute at least 90% of our net taxable income, excluding net capital gains, to our stockholders. As a REIT, we generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on net taxable income that we currently distribute to our stockholders. If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, we will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate rates. Even if we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we may be subject to some U.S. federal, state and local taxes on our income or property and the income of our taxable REIT subsidiary will be subject to taxation at normal corporate rates. See “U.S. federal income tax considerations.”

 

DISTRIBUTION POLICY

 

We intend to make regular quarterly distributions to holders of our common stock. We intend to pay a pro rata distribution with respect to the period commencing on the completion of the offering and ending September 30, 2004, based on a distribution of $0.2275 per share for a full quarter. On an annualized basis, this would be $0.91 per share, of which we currently estimate that approximately 85.0% may represent a return of capital for tax purposes, or an annual distribution rate of approximately 6.5% based on the initial public offering price of $14.00 per share. We estimate that this initial annual distribution will represent approximately 140.1% of our estimated cash available for distribution to our common stockholders for the 12 months ending March 31, 2005, and we expect to borrow approximately $8.0 million under our line of credit to pay the initial annual distribution. We currently expect to borrow approximately $1.1 million under our line of credit to pay the initial distribution for the partial quarter ending September 30, 2004. We have estimated our cash available for distribution to our common stockholders for the 12 months ending March 31, 2005 based on adjustments to our pro forma net income available to common stockholders before allocation to minority interest for the 12 months ended March 31, 2004 (giving effect to the offering and the formation transactions). This estimate was based upon our predecessor’s historical operating results and does not take into account our growth initiatives which are intended to improve our occupancy and operating results, nor does it take into account any unanticipated expenditures we may have to make or any debt we may have to incur. We intend to maintain our initial distribution rate for the 12-month period following completion of the offering unless our actual results of operations, economic conditions or other factors differ materially from the assumptions used in our estimate. Unless our operating cash flow increases, we expect that we will be required either to fund future distributions, including our initial distribution, from borrowings under our proposed line of credit or to reduce such distributions. If we use working capital or borrowings under our proposed line of credit to fund these distributions, this will reduce the cash we have available to fund our acquisition and development activities and other growth initiatives. See “Distribution Policy” for more information.

 

15


The offering

 

Common stock offered by us

20,200,000 shares(1)

 

Common stock to be outstanding prior to completion of the offering

8,095,003 shares(2)

 

Common stock to be outstanding after the offering

28,295,003 shares(1)(3)

 

Common stock and OP units to be outstanding after the offering

30,870,000 shares and units(1)(4)

 

Use of proceeds

We intend to use the net proceeds of the offering together with a new $19.0 million proposed variable rate mortgage due 2007 and a new proposed $111.0 million fixed rate mortgage due 2010, as follows:

 

  Ø   acquisition of properties ($167.6 million);

 

  Ø   repayment of existing indebtedness related to our initial assets ($106.4 million);

 

  Ø   payment of certain loan exit fees ($3.3 million);

 

  Ø   purchase of interests of certain joint venture partners in connection with the formation transactions including amounts used to retire certain loans incurred in connection with such purchase ($37.9 million);

 

  Ø   redemption of certain holders of Class A, Class B and Class C membership interests in our predecessor ($26.8 million);

 

  Ø   repayment of certain short term notes payable ($22.1 million);

 

  Ø   repayment of a note held by Anthony Fanticola (a director-nominee) and Joann Fanticola, co-trustees of the Anthony and Joann Fanticola Trust ($4.0 million) and payment of a related loan exit fee ($1.1 million);

 

  Ø   repayment of the Fidelity minority interest ($22.4 million); and

 

  Ø   payment of loan origination fees ($2.9 million).

 

 

We will use the remainder of the net proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes, including future acquisitions and development activities.

 

Proposed NYSE symbol

“EXR”

 

16



(1)   Excludes 3,030,000 shares of common stock that may be issued by us upon exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
(2)   Represents the number of shares of common stock outstanding prior to the completion of the offering and following completion of the formation transactions.
(3)   Excludes 650,000 shares of common stock reserved for issuance upon the exercise of options to be granted prior to or concurrently with the offering with an exercise price equal to the initial public offering price, 7,500,000 shares of common stock available for future issuance under our 2004 long-term stock incentive plan, 650,000 shares of common stock available for future issuance under our non-employee director plan, 3,437,564 shares of common stock that may be issued upon conversion of 3,437,564 CCSs issued pursuant to the formation transactions and 2,788,227 shares of common stock that may be issued by us upon redemption of 2,788,227 OP units outstanding (including OP units issuable upon conversion of 213,230 CCUs).
(4)   Excludes 650,000 shares of common stock reserved for issuance upon the exercise of options to be granted prior to or concurrently with the offering with an exercise price equal to the initial public offering price, 7,500,000 shares of common stock available for future issuance under our 2004 long-term stock incentive plan, 650,000 shares of common stock available for future issuance under our non-employee director plan and 3,437,564 shares of common stock that may be issued upon conversion of 3,437,564 CCSs issued pursuant to the formation transactions.

 

17


Summary consolidated pro forma and historical financial data

 

The following table shows summary consolidated pro forma financial data for our company and historical financial data for the Extra Space Predecessor for the periods indicated. You should read the following summary pro forma and historical financial data together with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” the pro forma and historical consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

The following summary consolidated historical financial data has been derived from financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent registered public accounting firm. Consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2003 and 2002 and the related consolidated statements of operations and of cash flows for the three years in the period ended December 31, 2003, and the related notes thereto appear elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

Our unaudited summary consolidated pro forma results of operations data and balance sheet data as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2004 and for the year ended December 31, 2003 give effect to the formation transactions, the offering, the use of proceeds from the offering and certain related transactions as described elsewhere herein. Our pro forma financial information is not necessarily indicative of what our actual financial position and results of operations would have been as of the dates and for the periods indicated, nor does it purport to represent our future financial position or results of operations.

 

18


    Company

    Extra Space Predecessor

 
    (Pro Forma)     (Historical)  
    Three Months
Ended
March 31,
    Year Ended
December 31,
   

Three Months Ended

March 31,


    Year Ended December 31,

 
    2004     2003     2004     2003     2003     2002     2001  
    (dollars in thousands, except per share data)  

Statement of Operations Data:

                                                       

Revenues:

                                                       

Property rental revenues

  $ 19,635     $ 77,408     $ 9,996     $ 7,481     $ 33,054     $ 28,811     $ 19,375  

Management fees

    274       1,162       548       483       1,935       2,018       2,179  

Acquisition fees and development fees

    265       654       265       252       654       922       834  

Other income

    75       107       117       114       618       635       611  
   


 


 


 


 


 


 


Total revenues

    20,249       79,331       10,926       8,330       36,261       32,386       22,999  
   


 


 


 


 


 


 


Expenses:

                                                       

Property operating expenses

    7,850       30,825       4,410       3,638       14,858       11,640       8,152  

Unrecovered development/acquisition costs and support payments

    498       —         498       275       4,937       1,938       2,227  

General and administrative (1)

    3,020       9,233       2,970       1,990       8,297       5,916       6,750  

Depreciation and amortization (2)

    5,411       20,694       2,677       1,432       6,805       5,652       3,105  
   


 


 


 


 


 


 


Total operating expenses

    16,779       60,752       10,555       7,335       34,897       25,146       20,234  
   


 


 


 


 


 


 


Income (loss) before interest expense, minority interests, equity in earnings of real estate ventures and gain on sale of real estate assets

    3,470       18,579       371       995       1,364       7,240       2,765  

Interest expense

    (4,922 )     (18,471 )     (6,367 )     (4,430 )     (18,746 )     (13,894 )     (11,477 )

Minority interest—Fidelity preferred return

    —         —         (1,096 )     (999 )     (4,132 )     (3,759 )     (322 )

(Income) loss allocated to minority interest in operating partnership and other

    106       (162 )     970       414       1,431       (100 )     (672 )

Equity in earnings of real estate ventures

    355       1,168       261       401       1,465       971       105  

Gain (loss) on sale of real estate assets

    (171 )     672       (171 )     —         672       —         4,677  
   


 


 


 


 


 


 


Net income (loss)

  $ (1,162 )   $ 1,786     $ (6,032 )   $ (3,619 )   $ (17,946 )   $ (9,542 )   $ (4,924 )
   


 


 


 


 


 


 


Basic earnings (loss) per share (3)(4)

  $ (0.04 )   $ 0.06                                          
   


 


                                       

Diluted earnings (loss) per share (4)

  $ (0.04 )   $ 0.06                                          
   


 


                                       

Weighted average common shares outstanding—basic (4)

    28,295       28,295                                          
   


 


                                       

Weighted average common shares outstanding—diluted (4)

    28,295       30,870                                          
   


 


                                       

Balance Sheet Data (as of end of period):

                                                       

Investments in real estate, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization

  $ 679,274             $ 440,152             $ 354,374     $ 306,415     $ 242,086  

Total assets

    704,418               476,645               383,751       332,290       270,265  

Mortgages and other secured loans

    423,308               345,507               273,808       231,025       178,552  

Total liabilities

    427,893               415,364               339,660       282,509       204,057  

Minority interest

    23,062               29,539               22,390       22,265       30,743  

Stockholders’/members’ equity

    253,463               31,742               21,701       27,516       35,465  

Total liabilities and stockholders’/members’ equity

    704,418               476,645               383,751       332,290       270,265  

Cash Flow Data:

                                                       

Net cash flow provided by (used in):

                                                       

Operating activities

                    (2,971 )     (1,105 )     (9,307 )     (70 )     (4,964 )

Investing activities

                    (84,865 )     (16,375 )     (57,757 )     (65,666 )     (8,884 )

Financing activities

                    79,762       11,790       72,349       64,963       19,446  

Other Data: (5)

                                                       

Funds from operations (6)

                    (3,156 )     (2,093 )     (11,793 )     (5,596 )     (6,915 )

Total properties

                    108       87       94       88       63  

Total net rentable square feet

                    7,028,750       5,492,481       6,008,781       5,555,191       3,757,178  

Occupancy

                    74.9 %     76.3 %     76.9 %     75.6 %     79.9 %

(footnotes on following page)

 

19



(1)   General and administrative expenses of our predecessor have historically been paid to Extra Space Management, Inc. as management fees. Pro forma general and administrative expenses include estimated public company costs less capitalization of development costs associated with internal development projects.
(2)   The pro forma year ended December 31, 2003 amount includes real estate depreciation and amortization of $14,167, amortization of intangibles related to tenant relationships acquired of $6,171 and other non-real estate depreciation of $356.
(3)   Pro forma basic earnings (loss) per share is computed assuming the offering was consummated as of the first day of the period presented and equals pro forma net income (loss) available to common stockholders divided by the pro forma number of shares of our common stock outstanding, which amount excludes 650,000 shares of common stock reserved for issuance upon the exercise of options outstanding, 3,030,000 shares of common stock that may be issued by us upon exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option with respect to the offering, 7,500,000 shares of common stock available for future issuance under our 2004 long-term stock incentive plan, 650,000 shares of common stock available for future issuance under our non-employee director plan, 3,437,564 shares of common stock that may be issued upon conversion of 3,437,564 CCSs outstanding and 2,788,227 shares of common stock that may be issued by us upon redemption of 2,788,227 OP units outstanding (including OP units issuable upon conversion of 213,230 CCUs).
(4)   The pro forma weighted average shares and earnings per share does not include the potential effects of the CCSs and CCUs as such securities would not have participated in earnings on a pro forma basis for the year ended December 31, 2003 and the quarter ended March 31, 2004 had they been issued effective January 1, 2003. These securities will not participate in distributions until they are converted, which cannot occur prior to March 31, 2006. We are currently evaluating the accounting impact of the conversion of CCSs and CCUs into shares of common stock and OP units.
(5)   Other data includes properties that we consolidated or in which we held an equity interest.
(6)   As defined by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, or NAREIT, funds from operations, or FFO, represents net income (computed in accordance with GAAP), excluding gains (or losses) from sales of property, plus depreciation and amortization and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures. We present FFO because we consider it an important supplemental measure of our operation performance and believe it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of REITs, many of which present FFO when reporting their results. FFO is intended to exclude GAAP historical cost depreciation and amortization of real estate and related assets, which assumes that the value of real estate assets diminishes ratably over time. Historically, however, real estate values have risen or fallen with market conditions. Because FFO excludes depreciation and amortization unique to real estate, gains and losses from property dispositions and extraordinary items, it provides a performance measure that, when compared year over year, reflects the impact to operations from trends in occupancy rates, rental rates, operating costs, development activities and interest costs, providing perspective not immediately apparent from net income. We compute FFO in accordance with standards established by the Board of Governors of NAREIT in its March 1995 White Paper (as amended in November 1999 and April 2002), which may differ from the methodology for calculating FFO utilized by other equity REITs and, accordingly, may not be comparable to such other REITs. Further, FFO does not represent amounts available for management’s discretionary use because of needed capital replacement or expansion, debt service obligations, or other commitments and uncertainties. FFO should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) (computed in accordance with GAAP) as an indicator of our liquidity, nor is it indicative of funds available to fund our cash needs, including our ability to pay dividends or make distributions.

 

The following table presents the reconciliation of FFO to our net income (loss) before allocation to minority interest, which we believe is the most directly comparable GAAP measure to FFO:

 

    Company

    Extra Space Predecessor

 
    (Pro Forma)     (Historical)  
   

Three Months

Ended
March 31,
2004

    Year Ended
December 31,
2003
    Three Months
Ended March 31,


    Year Ended December 31,

 
Reconciliation of FFO:       2004     2003     2003     2002     2001  
    (dollars in thousands)  

Net income (loss)

  $ (1,162 )   $ 1,786     $ (6,032 )   $ (3,619 )   $ (17,946 )   $ (9,542 )   $ (4,924 )

Plus:

                                                       

Real estate depreciation and amortization

    4,024       14,167       2,477       1,249       6,048       3,075       2,554  

Real estate depreciation and amortization included in equity in earnings of unconsolidated joint ventures

    82       358       107       112       447       211       132  

Amortization of intangibles related to tenant relationships

    1,306       6,171       121       165       330       660       —    

Income (loss) allocated to minority interest

    (106 )     162       —         —         —         —         —    

Plus (less):

                                                       

Gain on sale of real estate assets

    171       (672 )     171       —         (672 )     —         (4,677 )
   


 


 


 


 


 


 


FFO(1)

  $ 4,315     $ 21,972     $ (3,156 )   $ (2,093 )   $ (11,793 )   $ (5,596 )   $ (6,915 )
   


 


 


 


 


 


 



(1)   The FFO for the year ended December 31, 2003 of the company on a pro forma basis, as compared to the historical amount, has increased due to the purchase of the joint venture interest in 13 properties, the minority interest in 31 consolidated properties and the acquisition of 49 properties from third parties. These acquisitions resulted in an increase in revenues of approximately $44.4 million, and an increase in net income of approximately $19.7 million.

 

20



 

Risk factors

 

Investment in our common stock involves risks. You should carefully consider the following risk factors in addition to other information contained in this prospectus before purchasing the common stock we are offering. The occurrence of any of the following risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment. Some statements in this prospectus, including statements in the following risk factors, constitute forward-looking statements. Please refer to the section entitled “Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information.”

 

RISKS RELATED TO OUR PROPERTIES AND OPERATIONS

 

Adverse economic or other conditions in the markets in which we do business could negatively affect our occupancy levels and rental rates and therefore our operating results.

 

Our operating results are dependent upon our ability to maximize occupancy levels and rental rates in our self-storage properties. Adverse economic or other conditions in the markets in which we operate may lower our occupancy levels and limit our ability to increase rents or require us to offer rental discounts. If our properties fail to generate revenues sufficient to meet our cash requirements, including operating and other expenses, debt service and capital expenditures, our net income, FFO, cash flow, financial condition, ability to make distributions to stockholders and common stock trading price could be adversely affected. The following factors, among others, may adversely affect the operating performance of our properties:

 

Ø   the national economic climate and the local or regional economic climate in the markets in which we operate, which may be adversely impacted by, among other factors, industry slowdowns, relocation of businesses and changing demographics;

 

Ø   periods of economic slowdown or recession, rising interest rates or declining demand for self-storage or the public perception that any of these events may occur could result in a general decline in rental rates or an increase in tenant defaults;

 

Ø   local or regional real estate market conditions such as the oversupply of self-storage or a reduction in demand for self-storage in a particular area;

 

Ø   perceptions by prospective users of our self-storage properties of the safety, convenience and attractiveness of our properties and the neighborhoods in which they are located;

 

Ø   increased operating costs, including need for capital improvements, insurance premiums, real estate taxes and utilities;

 

Ø   changes in supply of or demand for similar or competing properties in an area;

 

Ø   the impact of environmental protection laws;

 

Ø   earthquakes and other natural disasters, terrorist acts, civil disturbances or acts of war which may result in uninsured or underinsured losses; and

 

Ø   changes in tax, real estate and zoning laws.

 

We have high concentrations of self-storage properties in the California, Massachusetts and New Jersey markets, and changes in the economic climates of these markets may materially adversely affect us.

 

Our properties located in California, Massachusetts and New Jersey provided approximately 33.5%, 17.6% and 19.3%, respectively, of our pro forma total revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2004. As a result of the geographic concentration of properties in these markets, we are particularly

 


 

21


Risk factors


 

exposed to downturns in these local economies or other changes in local real estate market conditions. In addition, the properties in our California market could be subject to earthquakes and our New Jersey properties located in the New York City metropolitan area may have a higher likelihood of becoming targets of future terrorist acts. As a result of economic changes and geopolitical risks in these markets, our business, financial condition, operating results, cash flow, the trading price of our common stock and our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations and our ability to pay distributions could be materially adversely affected.

 

If we are unable to promptly re-let our units or if the rates upon such re-letting are significantly lower than expected, then our business and results of operations would be adversely affected.

 

Virtually all of our leases are on a month-to-month basis. Any delay in re-letting units as vacancies arise would reduce our revenues and harm our operating results. In addition, lower than expected rental rates upon re-letting could impede our growth.

 

We face increasing competition for the acquisition of self-storage properties and other assets, which may impede our ability to make future acquisitions or may increase the cost of these acquisitions.

 

We compete with many other entities engaged in real estate investment activities for acquisitions of self-storage properties and other assets, including national, regional and local operators and developers of self-storage properties. These competitors may drive up the price we must pay for self-storage properties or other assets we seek to acquire or may succeed in acquiring those properties or assets themselves. In addition, our potential acquisition targets may find our competitors to be more attractive suitors because they may have greater resources, may be willing to pay more or may have a more compatible operating philosophy. In particular, larger self-storage REITs may enjoy significant competitive advantages that result from, among other things, a lower cost of capital and enhanced operating efficiencies. In addition, the number of entities and the amount of funds competing for suitable investment properties may increase. This competition will result in increased demand for these assets and therefore increased prices paid for them. Because of an increased interest in single-property acquisitions among tax-motivated individual purchasers, we may pay higher prices if we purchase single properties in comparison with portfolio acquisitions. If we pay higher prices for self-storage properties or other assets, our profitability will be reduced, and you may experience a lower return on your investment.

 

Our investments in development and redevelopment projects may not yield anticipated returns, which would harm our operating results and reduce the amount of funds available for distributions.

 

A key component of our growth strategy is exploring new-asset development and redevelopment opportunities through strategic joint ventures. To the extent that we engage in these development and redevelopment activities, they will be subject to the following risks normally associated with these projects:

 

Ø   we may be unable to obtain financing for these projects on favorable terms or at all;

 

Ø   we may not complete development projects on schedule or within budgeted amounts;

 

Ø   we may encounter delays or refusals in obtaining all necessary zoning, land use, building, occupancy and other required governmental permits and authorizations; and

 

Ø   occupancy rates and rents at newly developed or redeveloped properties may fluctuate depending on a number of factors, including market and economic conditions, and may result in our investment not being profitable.

 


 

22


Risk factors


 

In deciding whether to develop or redevelop a particular property, we make certain assumptions regarding the expected future performance of that property. We may underestimate the costs necessary to bring the property up to the standards established for its intended market position or may be unable to increase occupancy at a newly acquired property as quickly as expected or at all. Any substantial unanticipated delays or expenses could adversely affect the investment returns from these development or redevelopment projects and harm our operating results, liquidity and financial condition, which could result in a decline in the value of our securities.

 

We may in the future develop self-storage properties in geographic regions where we do not currently have a significant presence and where we do not possess the same level of familiarity with development, which could adversely affect our ability to develop such properties successfully or at all or to achieve expected performance.

 

We rely to a large extent on the investments of our joint venture partners for funding our development and redevelopment projects. If our reputation in the self-storage industry changes or the number of investors considering us an attractive strategic partner is otherwise reduced, our ability to develop or redevelop properties could be affected, which would limit our growth.

 

We may not be successful in identifying and consummating suitable acquisitions that meet our criteria, which may impede our growth and negatively affect our results of operations.

 

Our ability to expand through acquisitions is integral to our business strategy and requires us to identify suitable acquisition candidates or investment opportunities that meet our criteria and are compatible with our growth strategy. We may not be successful in identifying suitable properties or other assets that meet our acquisition criteria or in consummating acquisitions or investments on satisfactory terms or at all. Failure to identify or consummate acquisitions will slow our growth, which could in turn adversely affect our stock price.

 

Our ability to acquire properties on favorable terms and successfully integrate and operate them may be constrained by the following significant risks:

 

Ø   competition from local investors and other real estate investors with significant capital, including other publicly-traded REITs and institutional investment funds;

 

Ø   competition from other potential acquirers may significantly increase the purchase price which could reduce our profitability;

 

Ø   satisfactory completion of due diligence investigations and other customary closing conditions;

 

Ø   failure to finance an acquisition on favorable terms or at all;

 

Ø   we may spend more than the time and amounts budgeted to make necessary improvements or renovations to acquired properties; and

 

Ø   we may acquire properties subject to liabilities and without any recourse, or with only limited recourse, with respect to unknown liabilities such as liabilities for clean-up of undisclosed environmental contamination, claims by persons dealing with the former owners of the properties and claims for indemnification by general partners, directors, officers and others indemnified by the former owners of the properties.

 

In addition, strategic decisions by us such as acquisitions may adversely affect the price of our common stock.

 


 

23


Risk factors


 

We may not be successful in integrating and operating acquired properties.

 

We expect to make future acquisitions of self-storage properties. If we acquire any self-storage properties, we will be required to integrate them into our existing portfolio. The acquired properties may turn out to be less compatible with our growth strategy than originally anticipated, may cause disruptions in our operations or may divert management’s attention away from day-to-day operations, which could impair our results of operations as a whole.

 

Our operating results will be harmed if we are unable to achieve and sustain high occupancy rates at our 28 lease-up properties.

 

Following completion of the offering and the formation transactions, 28 of our properties will be in their lease-up stage. Our lease-up properties require start-up expenditures and may not contribute to our growth until they reach stabilization or at all. Start-up costs may be higher than anticipated, and stabilized operating levels, if achieved, may take longer to reach than we expect. To the extent that our start-up costs are higher than anticipated or these properties fail to reach stabilization or achieve stabilization later than we expect, our operating results and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders may be adversely affected.

 

We depend upon our on-site personnel to maximize tenant satisfaction at each of our properties, and any difficulties we encounter in hiring, training and maintaining skilled field personnel may harm our operating performance.

 

As of March 31, 2004, we had 229 field personnel in the management and operating of our properties. The general professionalism of our site managers and staff are contributing factors to a site’s ability to successfully secure rentals. We also rely upon our field personnel to maintain clean and secure self-storage properties. If we are unable to successfully recruit, train and retain qualified field personnel, the quality of service we strive to provide at our properties could be adversely affected which could lead to decreased occupancy levels and reduced operating performance.

 

Other self-storage operators may employ STORE or a technology similar to STORE, which could enhance their ability to compete with us.

 

We rely on STORE to support all aspects of our business operations and to help us implement new development and acquisition opportunities and strategies. If other self-storage companies obtain a license to use STORE, employ or develop a technology similar to STORE, their ability to compete with us could be enhanced.

 

Uninsured losses or losses in excess of our insurance coverage could adversely affect our financial condition and our cash flow.

 

We maintain comprehensive liability, fire, flood, earthquake, wind (as deemed necessary or as required by our lenders), extended coverage and rental loss insurance with respect to our properties with policy specifications, limits and deductibles customarily carried for similar properties. Certain types of losses, however, may be either uninsurable or not economically insurable, such as losses due to earthquakes, riots, acts of war or terrorism. Should an uninsured loss occur, we could lose both our investment in and anticipated profits and cash flow from a property. In addition, if any such loss is insured, we may be required to pay a significant deductible on any claim for recovery of such a loss prior to our insurer being obligated to reimburse us for the loss, or the amount of the loss may exceed our coverage for the loss. As a result, our operating results may be adversely affected.

 


 

24


Risk factors


 

Increases in taxes and regulatory compliance costs may reduce our revenue.

 

Costs resulting from changes in real estate tax laws generally are not passed through to tenants directly and will affect us. Increases in income, service or other taxes generally are not passed through to tenants under leases and may reduce our net income, funds from operations, or FFO, cash flow, financial condition, ability to pay or refinance our debt obligations, ability to make distributions to stockholders, and the per share trading price of our common stock. Similarly, changes in laws increasing the potential liability for environmental conditions existing on properties or increasing the restrictions on discharges or other conditions may result in significant unanticipated expenditures, which could similarly adversely affect our business and results of operations.

 

We did not always obtain independent appraisals of our properties, and thus the consideration paid for these properties may exceed the value that may be indicated by third-party appraisals.

 

We did not always obtain third-party appraisals of the properties in connection with our acquisition of these properties and the consideration being paid by us in exchange for the initial properties may exceed the value as determined by third-party appraisals. The terms of these agreements and the valuation methods used to determine the value of the properties were determined by our senior management team.

 

Environmental compliance costs and liabilities associated with operating our properties may affect our results of operations.

 

Under various U.S. federal, state and local laws, ordinances and regulations, owners and operators of real estate may be liable for the costs of investigating and remediating certain hazardous substances or other regulated materials on or in such property. Such laws often impose such liability without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of such substances or materials. The presence of such substances or materials, or the failure to properly remediate such substances, may adversely affect the owner’s or operator’s ability to lease, sell or rent such property or to borrow using such property as collateral. Persons who arrange for the disposal or treatment of hazardous substances or other regulated materials may be liable for the costs of removal or remediation of such substances at a disposal or treatment facility, whether or not such facility is owned or operated by such person. Certain environmental laws impose liability for release of asbestos-containing materials into the air and third parties may seek recovery from owners or operators of real properties for personal injury associated with asbestos-containing materials.

 

Certain environmental laws also impose liability, without regard to knowledge or fault, for removal or remediation of hazardous substances or other regulated materials upon owners and operators of contaminated property even after they no longer own or operate the property. Moreover, the past or present owner or operator from which a release emanates could be liable for any personal injuries or property damages that may result from such releases, as well as any damages to natural resources that may arise from such releases.

 

Certain environmental laws impose compliance obligations on owners and operators of real property with respect to the management of hazardous materials and other regulated substances. For example, environmental laws govern the management of asbestos-containing materials and lead-based paint. Failure to comply with these laws can result in penalties or other sanctions.

 

No assurances can be given that existing environmental studies with respect to any of our properties reveal all environmental liabilities, that any prior owner or operator of our properties did not create any material environmental condition not known to us, or that a material environmental condition does not

 


 

25


Risk factors


 

otherwise exist as to any one or more of our properties. There also exists the risk that material environmental conditions, liabilities or compliance concerns may have arisen after the review was completed or may arise in the future. Finally, future laws, ordinances or regulations and future interpretations of existing laws, ordinances or regulations may impose additional material environmental liability.

 

Two of our properties have been the subject of cleanup activities to address contamination that occurred prior to our ownership or operation of the sites. For a more detailed discussion of these two properties, see “Business and Properties—Environmental Matters.” No assurances can be given that investigation or cleanup activities will not be required at these sites, or that we will not be held responsible for some portion of the cleanup costs.

 

RISKS RELATED TO THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY

 

Our primary business involves the ownership, operation and development of self-storage properties.

 

Our current strategy is to own, operate and develop only self-storage properties. Consequently, we are subject to risks inherent in investments in a single industry. Because investments in real estate are inherently illiquid, this strategy makes it difficult for us to diversify our investment portfolio and to limit our risk when economic conditions change. Decreases in market rents, negative tax, real estate and zoning law changes and changes in environmental protection laws may also increase our costs, lower the value of our investments and decrease our income, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

 

Any negative perceptions of the self-storage industry generally may result in a decline in our stock price.

 

To the extent that the investing public has a negative perception of the self-storage industry, the value of our common stock may be negatively impacted, which would result in our common stock trading at a discount below the inherent value of our assets as a whole.

 

Costs associated with complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 may result in unanticipated expenses.

 

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or ADA, all places of public accommodation are required to meet certain federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. These requirements became effective in 1992. A number of additional U.S. federal, state and local laws may also require modifications to our properties, or restrict certain further renovations of the properties, with respect to access thereto by disabled persons. Noncompliance with the ADA could result in the imposition of fines or an award of damages to private litigants and also could result in an order to correct any non-complying feature, which could result in substantial capital expenditures. We have not conducted an audit or investigation of all of our properties to determine our compliance and we cannot predict the ultimate cost of compliance with the ADA or other legislation. If one or more of our properties is not in compliance with the ADA or other legislation, then we would be required to incur additional costs to bring the facility into compliance. If we incur substantial costs to comply with the ADA or other legislation, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, per share trading price of our common stock and our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations and to make distributions to our stockholders could be adversely affected.

 


 

26


Risk factors


 

Illiquidity of real estate investments could significantly impede our ability to respond to adverse changes in the performance of our properties.

 

Because real estate investments are relatively illiquid, our ability to promptly sell one or more properties in our portfolio in response to changing economic, financial and investment conditions is limited. The real estate market is affected by many factors, such as general economic conditions, availability of financing, interest rates and other factors, including supply and demand, that are beyond our control. We cannot predict whether we will be able to sell any property for the price or on the terms set by us or whether any price or other terms offered by a prospective purchaser would be acceptable to us. We also cannot predict the length of time needed to find a willing purchaser and to close the sale of a property.

 

We may be required to expend funds to correct defects or to make improvements before a property can be sold. We cannot assure you that we will have funds available to correct those defects or to make those improvements. In acquiring a property, we may agree to transfer restrictions that materially restrict us from selling that property for a period of time or impose other restrictions, such as a limitation on the amount of debt that can be placed or repaid on that property. These transfer restrictions would impede our ability to sell a property even if we deem it necessary or appropriate.

 

Any investments in unimproved real property may take significantly longer to yield income-producing returns, if at all, and may result in additional costs to us to comply with re-zoning restrictions or environmental regulations.

 

We have in the past, and may in the future, invest in unimproved real property. Unimproved properties generally take longer to yield income-producing returns based on the typical time required for development. Any development of unimproved property may also expose us to the risks and uncertainties associated with re-zoning the land for a higher use or development and environmental concerns of governmental entities and/or community groups. Any unsuccessful investments or delays in realizing an income-producing return or increased costs to develop unimproved real estate could restrict our ability to earn our targeted rate of return on an investment or adversely affect our ability to pay operating expenses which would harm our financial condition and operating results.

 

RISKS RELATED TO OUR DEBT FINANCINGS

 

Required payments of principal and interest on borrowings may leave us with insufficient cash to operate our properties or to pay the distributions currently contemplated or necessary to maintain our qualification as a REIT and may expose us to the risk of default under our debt obligations.

 

Upon completion of the offering and the formation transactions, we expect to have approximately $423.3 million of outstanding indebtedness, 100% of which will be secured. We expect to incur additional debt in connection with future acquisitions. We may borrow under our proposed line of credit, or borrow new funds to acquire these future properties. Additionally, we do not anticipate that our internally generated cash flow will be adequate to repay our existing indebtedness upon maturity and, therefore, we expect to repay our indebtedness through refinancing and equity and/or debt offerings. Further, we may need to borrow funds to make distributions required to maintain our qualification as a REIT or to meet our expected distributions.

 


 

27


Risk factors


 

If we are required to utilize our proposed line of credit for purposes other than acquisition activity, this will reduce the amount available for acquisitions and could slow our growth. Therefore, our level of debt and the limitations imposed on us by our debt agreements could have significant adverse consequences, including the following:

 

Ø   our cash flow may be insufficient to meet our required principal and interest payments;

 

Ø   we may be unable to borrow additional funds as needed or on favorable terms, including to make acquisitions or distributions required to maintain our qualification as a REIT;

 

Ø   we may be unable to refinance our indebtedness at maturity or the refinancing terms may be less favorable than the terms of our original indebtedness;

 

Ø   because a portion of our debt bears interest at variable rates, an increase in interest rates could materially increase our interest expense;

 

Ø   we may be forced to dispose of one or more of our properties, possibly on disadvantageous terms;

 

Ø   after debt service, the amount available for distributions to our stockholders is reduced;

 

Ø   our debt level could place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors with less debt;

 

Ø   we may experience increased vulnerability to economic and industry downturns, reducing our ability to respond to changing business and economic conditions;

 

Ø   we may default on our obligations and the lenders or mortgagees may foreclose on our properties that secure their loans and receive an assignment of rents and leases;

 

Ø   we may violate restrictive covenants in our loan documents, which would entitle the lenders to accelerate our debt obligations; and

 

Ø   our default under any one of our mortgage loans with cross-default or cross-collateralization provisions could result in default on other indebtedness or result in the foreclosures of other properties.

 

Our ability to pay our estimated initial annual distribution, which represents approximately 140.1% of our estimated cash available for distribution to our common stockholders for the 12 months ending March 31, 2005, depends upon our actual operating results, and we may have to borrow funds under our proposed line of credit to pay this distribution, which could slow our growth.

 

We expect to pay an initial annual distribution of $0.91 per share, which represents approximately 140.1% of our estimated cash available for distribution to our common stockholders for the 12 months ending March 31, 2005 calculated as described in “Distribution Policy.” Accordingly, we currently expect that we will be unable to pay our estimated initial annual distribution to stockholders out of cash available for distribution to our common stockholders as calculated in “Distribution Policy.” Unless our operating cash flow increases, we will be required either to fund future distributions from borrowings under our proposed line of credit or to reduce such distributions. If we need to borrow funds on a regular basis to meet our distribution requirements or if we reduce the amount of our distribution, our stock price may be adversely affected.

 

We could become highly leveraged in the future because our organizational documents contain no limitation on the amount of debt we may incur.

 

Our organizational documents contain no limitations on the amount of indebtedness that we or our operating partnership may incur. We could alter the balance between our total outstanding indebtedness and the value of our portfolio at any time. If we become more highly leveraged, then the resulting

 


 

28


Risk factors


 

increase in debt service could adversely affect our ability to make payments on our outstanding indebtedness and to pay our anticipated distributions and/or the distributions required to maintain our REIT status, and could harm our financial condition.

 

Increases in interest rates may increase our interest expense and adversely affect our cash flow and our ability to service our indebtedness and make distributions to our stockholders.

 

Upon completion of the offering and the formation transactions, we expect to have approximately $423.3 million of debt outstanding, of which approximately $123.8 million, or 29.2%, will be subject to variable interest rates. This variable rate debt had a weighted average interest rate of approximately 2.71% per annum as of March 31, 2004. Increases in interest rates on this variable rate debt would increase our interest expense, which could harm our cash flow and our ability to pay distributions. For example, if market rates of interest on this variable rate debt increased by 100 basis points, the increase in interest expense would decrease future earnings and cash flows by approximately $1.2 million annually as a result of the interest rate floor in place.

 

Failure to hedge effectively against interest rate changes may adversely affect our results of operations.

 

In certain cases we may seek to manage our exposure to interest rate volatility by using interest rate hedging arrangements. Hedging involves risks, such as the risk that the counterparty may fail to honor their obligations under an arrangement. Failure to hedge effectively against interest rate changes may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

 

RISKS RELATED TO OUR ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

 

Upon completion of the offering and the formation transactions, our two largest stockholders, Kenneth M. Woolley, who is our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Spencer F. Kirk, who is one of our other directors, and their respective affiliates will own 5.9% and 8.6%, respectively, of our outstanding common stock on a fully-diluted basis and will have the ability to exercise significant control of our company and any matter presented to our stockholders.

 

After completion of the offering, our two largest stockholders, one of whom is Kenneth M. Woolley, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and one of whom is Spencer F. Kirk, one of our other directors, and their affiliates will own approximately 5.9%, and 8.6%, respectively, of our outstanding common stock, on a fully-diluted basis. Consequently, those stockholders, individually or to the extent their interests are aligned, collectively, may be able to control the outcome of matters submitted for stockholder action, including the election of our board of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions, including business combinations, consolidations and mergers and the determination of our day-to-day corporate and management policies. Therefore, those stockholders have substantial influence on us and could exercise their influence in a manner that is not in the best interests of our other stockholders.

 

Our business could be harmed if key personnel with long-standing business relationships in the self-storage industry terminate their employment with us.

 

Our success depends, to a significant extent, on the continued services of our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and the other members of our senior management team. Our senior management team has an average of nine years of experience in the self-storage industry. In addition, our ability to continue

 


 

29


Risk factors


 

to develop properties depends on the significant relationships our senior management team has developed with our institutional joint venture partners such as affiliates of Prudential Financial, Inc. and Fidelity Investments. There is no guarantee that any of them will remain employed by us. We do not maintain key person life insurance on any of our officers. The loss of services of one or more members of our senior management team, particularly our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, could harm our business and our prospects.

 

We may change our investment and financing strategies and enter into new lines of business without stockholder consent, which may subject us to different risks.

 

We may change our investment and financing strategies and enter into new lines of business without stockholder consent, which may subject us to different risks. We may change our investment and financing strategies and enter into new lines of business at any time without the consent of our stockholders, which could result in our making investments and engaging in business activities that are different from, and possibly riskier than, the investments and businesses described in this prospectus. A change in our investment strategy or our entry into new lines of business may increase our exposure to other risks or real estate market fluctuations.

 

If other self-storage companies convert to the UPREIT structure or if tax laws change, we may no longer have an advantage in competing for potential acquisitions.

 

Because we are structured as an UPREIT, we are a more attractive purchaser of property to tax-motivated sellers than our competitors that are not structured as UPREITs. However, if other self-storage companies restructure their holdings to become UPREITs, this competitive advantage will disappear. In addition, new legislation may be enacted or new interpretations of existing legislation may be issued by the IRS or the U.S. Treasury Department that could affect the attractiveness of our UPREIT structure so that it may no longer assist us in competing for acquisitions.

 

Tax indemnification obligations in the event that we sell or otherwise dispose of certain properties could limit our operating flexibility.

 

In connection with the formation transactions, we have agreed to indemnify certain third parties for their tax liabilities attributable to the built-in gain on the assets held by the Moss Group in the event that our operating partnership directly or indirectly sells, exchanges or otherwise disposes (including by way of merger, sale of assets or otherwise) of any portion of its interests in or the properties held by the Moss Group, in a taxable transaction. These tax indemnity obligations apply for each of the contributors of interests in the Moss Group for nine years, with a three-year extension, respectively, if the applicable party owns at least 50% of the OP units received by it in the formation transactions at the expiration of the initial nine-year period. Although it may be in our stockholders’ best interest that we sell a property, it may be economically prohibitive for us to do so because of these obligations.

 

Tax indemnification obligations may require the operating partnership to maintain certain debt levels.

 

In connection with the formation transactions, we have agreed to make available to each of Kenneth M. Woolley, Richard S. Tanner and other third parties, the following tax protections: for nine years, with a three-year extension if the applicable party continues to own at least 50% of the OP units received by it in the formation transactions at the expiration of the initial nine-year period, the opportunity to (1) guarantee debt or (2) enter into a special loss allocation and deficit restoration obligation, in an aggregate amount, with respect to the foregoing contributors, at least equal to $60.0 million. See “Certain relationships and related transactions—Description of tax indemnity and debt guarantees.” We

 


 

30


Risk factors


 

agreed to these provisions in order to assist these contributors in preserving their tax position after their contributions. These obligations may require us to maintain more or different indebtedness than we would otherwise require for our business.

 

Our joint venture investments could be adversely affected by our lack of sole decision-making authority.

 

Immediately following completion of the offering and the formation transactions, we will hold interests in 18 properties through three joint venture partnerships, which could be adversely affected by our lack of sole decision-making authority, our reliance on co-venturers’ financial conditions and disputes between us and our co-venturers. We expect to continue our joint venture strategy by entering into one or more joint ventures for the purpose of developing new self-storage properties and acquiring existing properties. In such event, we would not be in a position to exercise sole decision-making authority regarding the property, partnership, joint venture or other entity. The decision-making authority regarding the properties we currently hold through joint ventures is either vested exclusively with our joint venture partners, is subject to a majority vote of the joint venture partners or equally shared by us and the joint venture partners. In addition, investments in partnerships, joint ventures or other entities may, under certain circumstances, involve risks not present were a third party not involved, including the possibility that partners or co-venturers might become bankrupt or fail to fund their share of required capital contributions. Partners or co-venturers may have economic or other business interests or goals which are inconsistent with our business interests or goals, and may be in a position to take actions contrary to our policies or objectives. Such investments may also have the potential risk of impasses on decisions, such as a sale, because neither we nor the partner or co-venturer would have full control over the partnership or joint venture. Disputes between us and partners or co-venturers may result in litigation or arbitration that would increase our expenses and prevent our officers and/or directors from focusing their time and efforts on our business. Consequently, actions by or disputes with partners or co-venturers might result in subjecting properties owned by the partnership or joint venture to additional risk. In addition, we may in certain circumstances be liable for the actions of our third-party partners or co-venturers.

 

Kenneth M. Woolley, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Spencer F. Kirk, one of our directors, and Richard S. Tanner, Kent Christensen, Charles L. Allen, David Rasmussen and Timothy Arthurs, members of our senior management, have outside business interests which could divert their time and attention away from us, which could harm our business.

 

Kenneth M. Woolley, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, as well as certain other members of our senior management team, have outside business interests. These business interests include the ownership of two self-storage properties, one located in Palmdale, California and the other located in Pico Rivera, California, which as of March 2004 were in the early lease-up stage and the ownership of Extra Space Development LLC. Other than these two properties and Extra Space Development, LLC, the members of our senior management are not currently engaged in any other self-storage activities outside the company. In addition, Kenneth M. Woolley’s employment agreement includes an exception to his non-competition covenant pursuant to which he is permitted to devote a portion of his time to the management and operations of RMI Development, LLC, a multi-family business in which he has a majority ownership. Although Kenneth M. Woolley’s employment agreement requires that he devote substantially his full business time and attention to us, this agreement also permits him to devote time to his outside business interests. These outside business interests could interfere with his ability to devote time to our business and affairs and as a result, our business could be harmed.

 


 

31


Risk factors


 

Conflicts of interest could arise as a result of our relationship with our operating partnership.

 

Conflicts of interest could arise in the future as a result of the relationships between us and our affiliates, on the one hand, and our operating partnership or any partner thereof, on the other. Our directors and officers have duties to our company and our stockholders under applicable Maryland law in connection with their management of our company. At the same time, we, through our wholly owned subsidiary, have fiduciary duties, as a general partner, to our operating partnership and to the limited partners under Delaware law in connection with the management of our operating partnership. Our duties, through our wholly owned subsidiary, as a general partner to our operating partnership and its partners may come into conflict with the duties of our directors and officers to our company and our stockholders. The partnership agreement of our operating partnership does not require us to resolve such conflicts in favor of either our stockholders or the limited partners in our operating partnership.

 

Unless otherwise provided for in the relevant partnership agreement, Delaware law generally requires a general partner of a Delaware limited partnership to adhere to fiduciary duty standards under which it owes its limited partners the highest duties of good faith, fairness and loyalty and which generally prohibit such general partner from taking any action or engaging in any transaction as to which it has a conflict of interest.

 

Additionally, the partnership agreement expressly limits our liability by providing that neither we, our direct wholly owned Massachusetts business trust subsidiary, as the general partner of the operating partnership, nor any of our or their trustees, directors or officers, will be liable or accountable in damages to our operating partnership, the limited partners or assignees for errors in judgment, mistakes of fact or law or for any act or omission if we, or such trustee, director or officer, acted in good faith. In addition, our operating partnership is required to indemnify us, our affiliates and each of our respective trustees, officers, directors, employees and agents to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities (whether joint or several), expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees and other legal fees and expenses), judgments, fines, settlements and other amounts arising from any and all claims, demands, actions, suits or proceedings, civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, that relate to the operations of the operating partnership, provided that our operating partnership will not indemnify for (1) willful misconduct or a knowing violation of the law, (2) any transaction for which such person received an improper personal benefit in violation or breach of any provision of the partnership agreement, or (3) in the case of a criminal proceeding, the person had reasonable cause to believe the act or omission was unlawful.

 

The provisions of Delaware law that allow the common law fiduciary duties of a general partner to be modified by a partnership agreement have not been resolved in a court of law, and we have not obtained an opinion of counsel covering the provisions set forth in the partnership agreement that purport to waive or restrict our fiduciary duties that would be in effect under common law were it not for the partnership agreement.

 

Our management’s ownership of CCSs and CCUs may cause them to devote a disproportionate amount of time to the performance of the 14 wholly owned early-stage lease-up properties, which could cause our overall operating performance to suffer.

 

Upon completion of the offering and the formation transactions, we will issue to our contributors, which include certain members of our senior management, in addition to shares of our common stock, CCSs and/or a combination of OP units and CCUs. The terms of the CCSs and CCUs provide that they will convert into our common stock and OP units, respectively, only if the relevant 14 early-stage lease-up properties achieve specified performance thresholds prior to December 31, 2008. As a result, our

 


 

32


Risk factors


 

directors and officers who own CCSs and CCUs may have an incentive to devote a disproportionately large amount of their time and attention to these properties in comparison with our remaining properties, which could harm our operating results.

 

We may pursue less vigorous enforcement of terms of contribution and other agreements because of conflicts of interest with certain of our officers.

 

Kenneth M. Woolley, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Spencer F. Kirk, Kent W. Christensen, Charles L. Allen, Richard S. Tanner and Hugh W. Horne, who serve as directors and members of our senior management, have direct or indirect ownership interests in certain properties to be contributed to our operating partnership in the formation transactions. Following the completion of the offering and the formation transactions, we, under the agreements relating to the contribution of such interests, will be entitled to indemnification and damages in the event of breaches of representations or warranties made by the contributors. In addition, Kenneth M. Woolley’s employment agreement includes an exception to his non-competition covenant pursuant to which he is permitted to devote time to the management and operations of RMI Development, LLC, a multi-family business. None of these contribution and non-competition agreements was negotiated on an arm’s-length basis. We may choose not to enforce, or to enforce less vigorously, our rights under these contribution and non-competition agreements because of our desire to maintain our ongoing relationships with the individuals party to these agreements.

 

Certain provisions of Maryland law and our organizational documents, including the stock ownership limit imposed by our charter, may inhibit market activity in our stock and could prevent or delay a change in control transaction.

 

Our charter, subject to certain exceptions, authorizes our directors to take such actions as are necessary and desirable to preserve our qualification as a REIT and to limit any person to actual or constructive ownership of no more than 7.0% (by value or by number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of our outstanding common stock or 7.0% (by value or by number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of our outstanding capital stock. Our board of directors, in its sole discretion, may exempt a proposed transferee from the ownership limit. However, our board of directors may not grant an exemption from the ownership limit to any proposed transferee whose ownership could jeopardize our status as a REIT. See “Description of Stock—Restrictions on Transfer.” These restrictions on ownership will not apply if our board of directors determines that it is no longer in our best interests to attempt to qualify, or to continue to qualify, as a REIT. The ownership limit may delay or impede a transaction or a change of control that might involve a premium price for our common stock or otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders. See “Description of Stock—Restrictions on Transfer.” Different ownership limits apply to the family of Kenneth M. Woolley, certain of its affiliates, family members and estates and trusts formed for the benefit of the foregoing and Spencer F. Kirk, certain of his affiliates, family members and estates and trusts formed for the benefit of the foregoing and certain designated investment entities (as defined in our charter).

 

Our board of directors has the power to issue additional shares of our stock in a manner that may not be in your best interests.

 

Our charter authorizes our board of directors to issue additional authorized but unissued shares of common stock or preferred stock and to increase the aggregate number of authorized shares or the number of shares of any class or series without stockholder approval. In addition, our board of directors may increase or decrease the aggregate number of our shares or the number of our shares of any class or series and may classify or reclassify any unissued shares of common stock or preferred stock and set the preferences, rights and other terms of the classified or reclassified shares. See “Description of stock—

 


 

33


Risk factors


 

Power to Increase Authorized Stock and Issue Additional Shares of Our Common Stock and Preferred Stock.” Our board of directors could issue additional shares of our common stock or establish a series of preferred stock that could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control or other transaction that might involve a premium price for our common stock or otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders.

 

Our rights and the rights of our stockholders to take action against our directors and officers are limited.

 

Maryland law provides that a director or officer has no liability in that capacity if he or she performs his or her duties in good faith, in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in our best interests and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. In addition, our charter eliminates our directors’ and officers’ liability to us and our stockholders for money damages except for liability resulting from actual receipt of an improper benefit in money, property or services or active and deliberate dishonesty established by a final judgment and which is material to the cause of action. Our bylaws require us to indemnify our directors and officers for liability resulting from actions taken by them in those capacities to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law. As a result, we and our stockholders may have more limited rights against our directors and officers than might otherwise exist under common law. In addition, we may be obligated to fund the defense costs incurred by our directors and officers. See “Certain Provisions of Maryland Law.”

 

We may assume unknown liabilities in connection with the formation transactions.

 

As part of the formation transactions, we (through our operating partnership) will receive the contribution of certain assets or interests in certain assets subject to existing liabilities, some of which may be unknown at the time the offering is consummated. Unknown liabilities might include liabilities for cleanup or remediation of undisclosed environmental conditions, claims of tenants, vendors or other persons dealing with the entities prior to the offering (that had not been asserted or threatened prior to the offering), tax liabilities, and accrued but unpaid liabilities incurred in the ordinary course of business. Our recourse with respect to such liabilities will be limited.

 

To the extent our distributions represent a return of capital for tax purposes, you could recognize an increased capital gain upon a subsequent sale of your common stock.

 

Distributions in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits and not treated by us as a dividend will not be taxable to a taxable U.S. stockholder under current U.S. federal income tax law to the extent those distributions do not exceed the stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in his or her common stock, but instead will constitute a return of capital and will reduce such adjusted basis. If distributions result in a reduction of a stockholder’s adjusted basis in such holder’s common stock, subsequent sales of such holder’s common stock potentially will result in recognition of an increased capital gain due to the reduction in such adjusted basis.

 

RISKS RELATED TO QUALIFICATION AND OPERATION AS A REIT

 

To maintain our qualification as a REIT, we may be forced to borrow funds on a short-term basis during unfavorable market conditions.

 

To qualify as a REIT, we generally must distribute to our stockholders at least 90% of our net taxable income each year, excluding net capital gains, and we will be subject to regular corporate income taxes to the extent that we distribute less than 100% of our net taxable income each year. In addition, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the amount, if any, by which distributions paid by us in

 


 

34


Risk factors


 

any calendar year are less than the sum of 85% of our ordinary income, 95% of our capital gain net income and 100% of our undistributed income from prior years. In order to maintain our REIT qualification and avoid the payment of income and excise taxes, we may need to borrow funds on a short-term basis to meet the REIT distribution requirements even if the then prevailing market conditions are not favorable for these borrowings. These short-term borrowing needs could result from a difference in timing between the actual receipt of cash and inclusion of income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or the effect of non-deductible capital expenditures, the creation of reserves or required debt or amortization payments.

 

Dividends payable by REITs do not qualify for the reduced tax rates under recently enacted tax legislation.

 

Recently enacted tax legislation reduces the maximum tax rate for dividends payable by domestic corporations to individual U.S. stockholders (as such term is defined under “U.S. federal income tax considerations” below) to 15% (through 2008). Dividends payable by REITs, however, are generally not eligible for the reduced rates. Although this legislation does not adversely affect the taxation of REITs or dividends paid by REITs, the more favorable rates applicable to regular corporate dividends could cause stockholders who are individuals to perceive investments in REITs to be relatively less attractive than investments in the stocks of non-REIT corporations that pay dividends, which could adversely affect the value of the stock of REITs, including our common stock.

 

In addition, the relative attractiveness of real estate in general may be adversely affected by the newly favorable tax treatment given to corporate dividends, which could negatively affect the value of our properties.

 

Possible legislative or other actions affecting REITs could adversely affect our stockholders.

 

The rules dealing with federal income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department. Changes to tax laws (which changes may have retroactive application) could adversely affect our stockholders. It cannot be predicted whether, when, in what forms, or with what effective dates, the tax laws applicable to us or our stockholders will be changed.

 

The ability of our board of directors to revoke our REIT election without stockholder approval may cause adverse consequences to our stockholders.

 

Our charter provides that our board of directors may revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election, without the approval of our stockholders, if it determines that it is no longer in our best interests to continue to qualify as a REIT. If we cease to qualify as a REIT, we would become subject to federal income tax on our taxable income and would no longer be required to distribute most of our taxable income to our stockholders, which may have adverse consequences on the total return to our stockholders.

 

Our failure to qualify as a REIT would have significant adverse consequences to us and the value of our stock.

 

We intend to operate in a manner that will allow us to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes under the Internal Revenue Code. We have not requested and do not plan to request a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, that we qualify as a REIT, and the statements in this prospectus are not binding on the IRS or any court. If we fail to qualify as a REIT or lose our status as a

 


 

35


Risk factors


 

REIT at any time, we will face serious tax consequences that would substantially reduce the funds available for distribution to you for each of the years involved because:

 

Ø   we would not be allowed a deduction for distributions to stockholders in computing our taxable income and would be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate rates;

 

Ø   we also could be subject to the U.S. federal alternative minimum tax and possibly increased state and local taxes; and

 

Ø   unless we are entitled to relief under applicable statutory provisions, we could not elect to be taxed as a REIT for four taxable years following a year during which we were disqualified.

 

In addition, if we fail to qualify as a REIT, we will not be required to make distributions to stockholders, and all distributions to stockholders will be subject to tax as regular corporate dividends to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits. This means that our stockholders who are taxed as individuals would be taxed on our dividends at capital gains rates, and our corporate stockholders generally would be entitled to the dividends received deductions with respect to such dividends, subject, in each case, to applicable limitations under the Internal Revenue Code. As a result of all these factors, our failure to qualify as a REIT also could impair our ability to expand our business and raise capital, and would adversely affect the value of our common stock.

 

Qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex Internal Revenue Code provisions for which there are only limited judicial and administrative interpretations. The complexity of these provisions and of the applicable Treasury regulations that have been promulgated under the Internal Revenue Code is greater in the case of a REIT that, like us, holds its assets through a partnership. The determination of various factual matters and circumstances not entirely within our control may affect our ability to qualify as a REIT. In order to qualify as a REIT, we must satisfy a number of requirements, including requirements regarding the composition of our assets and sources of our gross income. Also, we must make distributions to stockholders aggregating annually at least 90% of our net taxable income, excluding capital gains. In addition, legislation, new regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions may adversely affect our investors, our ability to qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes or the desirability of an investment in a REIT relative to other investments.

 

We will pay some taxes.

 

Even if we qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we will be required to pay some U.S. federal, state and local taxes on our income and property. We expect that we and Extra Space Management, Inc. will elect for Extra Space Management, Inc. to be treated as “taxable REIT subsidiary” of our company for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A taxable REIT subsidiary is a fully taxable corporation and may be limited in its ability to deduct interest payments made to us. In addition, we will be subject to a 100% penalty tax on certain amounts if the economic arrangements among our tenants, our taxable REIT subsidiary and us are not comparable to similar arrangements among unrelated parties or if we receive payments for inventory or property held for sale to tenants in the ordinary course of business. To the extent that we are or our taxable REIT subsidiary is required to pay U.S. federal, state or local taxes, we will have less cash available for distribution to stockholders.

 


 

36


Risk factors


 

RISKS RELATED TO THE OFFERING

 

If you purchase shares of common stock in the offering, you will experience immediate and significant dilution in the book value of our common stock offered in the offering equal to $5.55 per share.

 

We expect the initial public offering price of our common stock to be substantially higher than the book value per share of our outstanding common stock will be immediately after the offering. If you purchase our common stock in the offering, you will incur immediate dilution of approximately $5.55 in the book value per share of common stock from the price you pay for our common stock in the offering. This means that the investors who purchase shares:

 

Ø   will pay a price per share that substantially exceeds the per share value of our assets after subtracting our liabilities; and

 

Ø   will have contributed 89.0% of the total amount of our equity funding since inception but will only own 71.4% of the shares outstanding.

 

In addition, we are issuing 3,650,794 CCSs and CCUs in connection with the offering and the formation transactions. These CCSs and CCUs are convertible into shares of our common stock and OP units, respectively, upon achievement by our company of certain performance results relating to the 14 early-stage lease-up properties. The conversion of CCSs into common stock and CCUs into OP units will be dilutive to investors in the offering. We also have offered and expect to continue to offer stock options to our employees and have reserved 8,000,000 shares of common stock for future issuance under our stock incentive plan. To the extent that stock options are granted and ultimately exercised, there will be further dilution to investors in the offering.

 

There is currently no public market for our common stock, an active trading market for our common stock may never develop following the offering and the trading and our common stock price may be volatile and could decline substantially following the offering.

 

Prior to the offering, there has been no public market for our common stock and an active trading market for our common stock may never develop or be sustained. You may not be able to resell our common stock at or above the initial public offering price. The initial public offering price of our common stock has been determined based on negotiations between us and the representatives of the underwriters and may not be indicative of the market price for our common stock after the offering. See “Underwriting.” Performance, government regulatory action, tax laws, interest rates and market conditions in general could have a significant impact on the future market price of our common stock. Some of the factors that could negatively affect our share price or result in fluctuations in the price of our stock include:

 

Ø   actual or anticipated variations in our quarterly operating results;

 

Ø   changes in our funds from operations or earnings estimates or publication of research reports about us or the real estate industry;

 

Ø   increases in market interest rates may lead purchasers of our shares to demand a higher yield;

 

Ø   changes in market valuations of similar companies;

 

Ø   adverse market reaction to any increased indebtedness we incur in the future;

 

Ø   additions or departures of key personnel;

 

Ø   actions by institutional stockholders;

 


 

37


Risk factors


 

Ø   speculation in the press or investment community; and

 

Ø   general market, economic and political conditions.

 

Future sales of shares of our common stock may depress the price of our shares.

 

We cannot predict whether future issuance of shares of our common stock or the availability of shares for resale in the open market will decrease the market price per share of our common stock. Any sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, including upon the redemption of OP units, or the perception that such sales might occur, may cause the market price of our shares to decline. Upon completion of the offering and the formation transactions, all common shares sold in the offering will be freely tradable without restriction (other than any restrictions set forth in our charter relating to our qualification as a REIT) after the expiration of the 180-day lock-up period described under the heading “Underwriting,” unless the shares are owned by one of our affiliates. Affiliates may only sell their shares pursuant to the requirements of Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, or as described below.

 

Holders of 11,532,567 shares of our unregistered common stock (assuming the conversion of all CCSs into common stock) and all holders of OP units (representing 2,788,277 shares of common stock that may be issued by us upon redemption of OP units (assuming conversion of all CCUs into OP units)), have registration rights requiring us to register their common stock with the SEC and holders of 100% of these shares of common stock and of units are subject to agreements prohibiting them from disposing of these shares for 180 days following completion of the offering. In the aggregate, these shares of common stock and OP units represent approximately 31.0% of our outstanding shares of common stock on a fully-diluted basis after completion of the offering. In addition, after completion of the offering and the formation transactions, we intend to register all common stock that we may issue under our 2004 long-term stock incentive plan, and once we register these shares they can be freely sold in the public market after issuance. If any or all of these holders cause a large number of their shares to be sold in the public market, such sales could reduce the trading price of our common stock and could impede our ability to raise future capital.

 

The exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, the redemption of OP units for common stock, the exercise of any options or the vesting of any restricted stock granted to directors, executive officers and other employees under our 2004 long-term stock incentive plan, the issuance of our common stock or OP units in connection with property, portfolio or business acquisitions and other issuances of our common stock could have an adverse effect on the market price of the shares of our common stock, and the existence of OP units, options and shares of our common stock reserved for issuance as restricted shares of our common stock or upon redemption of OP units or exercise of options may adversely affect the terms upon which we may be able to obtain additional capital through the sale of equity securities. In addition, future sales of shares of our common stock may be dilutive to existing stockholders.

 

An affiliate of one of our underwriters will receive benefits in connection with the offering.

 

In connection with the formation transactions and the offering, an affiliate of Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, one of our underwriters in the offering, will receive benefits from the offering in addition to customary underwriting discounts and commissions, reimbursement of certain expenses and indemnification for certain liabilities. Wells Fargo, N.A. is the lender under our predecessor’s property credit line and corporate credit line. We intend to use approximately $5.9 million of the net proceeds we expect to receive in the offering to repay these lines of credit in full. These transactions may create a potential conflict of interest because one of the underwriters has an interest in the successful completion of the offering beyond the customary benefits described above.

 


 

38



 

Statements regarding forward-looking information

 

This prospectus contains various “forward-looking statements.” You can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “estimates” or “anticipates” or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases. You can also identify forward-looking statements by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. Statements regarding the following subjects may be impacted by a number of risks and uncertainties:

 

Ø   our business strategy;

 

Ø   our ability to obtain future financing arrangements;

 

Ø   estimates relating to our future distributions;

 

Ø   our understanding of our competition;

 

Ø   information relating to the conversion of CCSs and CCUs;

 

Ø   market trends;

 

Ø   projected capital expenditures;

 

Ø   the impact of technology on our products, operations and business; and

 

Ø   use of the proceeds of the offering.

 

The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus reflect our beliefs, assumptions and expectations of our future performance, taking into account all information currently available to us. These beliefs, assumptions and expectations are subject to risks and uncertainties and can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to us. If a change occurs, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may vary materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements. You should carefully consider these risks before you make an investment decision with respect to our common stock.

 

For more information regarding risks that may cause our actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements, see “Risk Factors.” We do not intend and disclaim any duty or obligation to update or revise any industry information or forward-looking statements set forth in this prospectus to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.

 


 

39



 

Use of proceeds

 

We will receive net proceeds from the offering of approximately $257.8 million and approximately $297.3 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions, financial advisory fees and estimated expenses of the offering.

 

We will contribute the net proceeds of the offering to our operating partnership. In addition, concurrently with the closing of the offering we expect to enter into a variable rate mortgage loan in the aggregate principal amount of $19.0 million with U.S. Bank, and a fixed rate mortgage loan in the aggregate principal amount of $111.0 million with Wachovia Bank, N.A. The U.S. Bank mortgage, which will be secured by five properties, will bear interest at a variable rate equal to LIBOR plus 175 basis points and will mature in three years after its inception. The Wachovia loan, which will be secured by the 26 properties that we expect to acquire in the Storage Spot transaction, will bear interest at a fixed rate equal to 150 basis points above the five-year Treasury rate and will mature in 2010. We have been proffered a binding commitment letter from U.S. Bank relating to the U.S. Bank loan and from Wachovia relating to the Wachovia loan. We do not intend to use the proceeds of these two mortgage loans to fund distributions.

 

Wells Fargo, N.A., an affiliate of Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, one of the underwriters in this offering, is the lender under our property credit line and our corporate credit line. We will use a portion of the net proceeds of this offering to repay these lines of credit, as described below.

 


 

40


Use of proceeds


 

The following table sets forth the sources and uses of funds that we expect in connection with the offering and the U.S. Bank loan and the Wachovia loan described above. Some of the uses indicated in the following table could be funded from other sources, such as additional cash on hand or our proposed line of credit.

 

Sources (dollars in thousands)         Uses (dollars in thousands)     

Gross proceeds from the offering

   $ 282,800    Acquisition of properties    $ 167,637

Proposed variable rate mortgage due 2007

Proposed fixed rate mortgage due 2010

    
 
19,000
111,000
  

Repayment of existing indebtedness related to our initial assets

     106,366

Escrow deposits and cash on hand

         

Payment of certain loan exit fees

     3,274
           

Purchase of interests of certain joint venture partners in connection with the formation transactions including amounts used to retire certain loans incurred in connection with such purchase

     37,984
           

Redemption of certain holders of Class A, Class B and Class C membership interests in our predecessor

     26,814
           

Repayment of certain short term notes payable

     22,074
           

Repayment of a note held by Anthony Fanticola (a director-nominee) and Joann Fanticola, cotrustees of the Anthony and Joann Fanticola Trust and payment of related loan exit fee

     5,139
           

Payment of loan origination fees

     2,865
           

Repayment of the Fidelity minority interest

     22,382
                

           

Subtotal

   $ 394,535
                

           

Payment of fees and expenses of the offering:

      
           

Underwriting commission

      
           

Financial advisory fee

      
           

Other fees and expenses

     5,191
                

           

Subtotal

      
                

Total Sources

   $     

Total Uses

   $  
    

       

 

Pending the use of any cash proceeds, we intend to invest the net proceeds in interest-bearing, short-term investment-grade securities or money-market accounts which are consistent with our intention to qualify as a REIT. Such investments may include, for example, government and government agency certificates, certificates of deposit, interest-bearing bank deposits and mortgage loan participations.

 

Any net proceeds remaining after the uses set forth in the table above will be used for working capital purposes, including future acquisitions and development activities. If the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option for the offering in full, we expect to use the additional net proceeds to us, which will be approximately $39.5 million in aggregate, for working capital needs, including future acquisitions and developments. We do not intend to use any of the net proceeds from this offering to fund distributions to our stockholders, but to the extent we use these proceeds to fund distributions, these payments will be treated as a return of capital to our stockholders.

 


 

41


Use of proceeds


 

Our repayment of existing indebtedness and related loan exit fees related to our initial assets consists of the following:

 

     Debt

   Exit Fees

Senior fixed rate mortgage due 2009 which bears interest at a rate of 8.97% per annum

   $ 1,246,658    $ 384,323

Senior fixed rate mortgage due 2008, which bears interest at a rate of 7.15% per annum

     5,004,897      931,900

Senior variable rate mortgage due 2007, which bears interest at LIBOR plus 4.50% per annum with a LIBOR floor of 1.50%(1)

     52,201,299      1,957,549

Nine senior mortgage and construction loans due October 2004