Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC is in talks to acquire a stake in StorageMart, which describes itself as the largest privately owned storage company in the world, according to sources.

Although a deal has yet to be finalised, the potential transaction is slated to value StorageMart at more than US$2.5 billion (S$3.5 billion), including debt, sources said. Rosewood Investment may participate in the deal, one of them said.

Representatives for StorageMart, GIC and Rosewood either declined to comment or did not respond immediately.

StorageMart, based in Columbia, Missouri, last month said it added 549 climate-controlled storage units at its latest facility in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It has about 225 locations in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, its website shows.

StorageMart, a family-operated business led by chief executive Mike Burnam and president Cris Burnam, counts TKG, an affiliate of Kroenke Group, among its backers. TKG was founded by Mr Stanley Kroenke, a billionaire whose other holdings include the National Football League's Los Angeles Rams and Arsenal Football Club.

Mr Kroenke sponsored one of the first commercial mortgage-backed securities issuances last year, a US$644 million single asset, single borrower backed by 101 StorageMart-branded self-storage properties.

GIC has been an active participant across the US property market. In 2018, it formed a joint venture with Tricon Capital Group and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas to snap up US rental homes.

BLOOMBERG