Under the proposed all-stock deal, Life Storage shareholders would receive 0.4192 share of Public Storage for each Life Storage share or unit, which equates to $129.3 per share based on Public Storage's closing share price on Friday.

Shares of Public Storage traded at $308.47 each on Friday, giving the California-based company a market value of nearly $54.2 billion, while Life Storage's shares were at $100.58.

Public Storage said Life Storage had rejected an offer under similar terms in January, with the target saying the it was "not for sale" and the deal was not in the best interest of shareholders.

Life Storage did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Public Storage said the combination would save costs and make Life Storage's business more efficient.

"We believe your shareholders deserve to be informed of our proposed transaction and to have the opportunity to make their views known, and we are making this letter public in light of your refusal to engage in any meaningful dialogue," Public Storage said in a letter to Life Storage's management.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) was a bright spot for mergers and acquisitions in 2022, bringing $83 billion in deal volume, the second highest for the sector since 2007, according to National Association of REIT.

Prologis Inc's acquisition of Duke Realty Corp and private equity buyers like Blackstone contributed to the largest deals in the space.

(Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru, Krystal Hu and Anirban Sen in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Diane Craft and Jamie Freed)