Iron Mountain 10-K 2019-12-31

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 10-K

Commission File Number 1-13045

IRON MOUNTAIN INC****ORPORATED

(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Delaware

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)

One Federal Street**,** Boston**,** Massachusetts

(Address of principal executive offices)

23-2588479

(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

02110

(Zip Code)

617**-**535-4766

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer", "smaller reporting company" and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

As of June 30, 2019, the aggregate market value of the Common Stock of the registrant held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $8.9 billion based on the closing price on the New York Stock Exchange on such date.

Number of shares of the registrant's Common Stock at February 7, 2020: 287,343,251

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Certain information required in Items 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (the "Annual Report") is incorporated by reference from our definitive Proxy Statement for our 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (our "Proxy Statement") to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") within 120 days after the close of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.

IRON MOUNTAIN INCORPORATED

2019 FORM 10-K ANNUAL REPORT

Table of Contents

ii

References in this Annual Report to "the Company," "Iron Mountain," "we," "us" or "our" include Iron Mountain Incorporated, a Delaware corporation, and its predecessor, as applicable, and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

We have made statements in this Annual Report that constitute "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other securities laws. These forward-looking statements concern our operations, economic performance, financial condition, goals, beliefs, future growth strategies, investment objectives, plans and current expectations, such as our (1) commitment to future dividend payments, (2) expected change in volume of records stored with us, (3) expected organic revenue growth, including 2020 consolidated organic storage rental revenue growth rate and consolidated organic total revenue growth rate, (4) expectations that profits will increase in our growth portfolio, including our higher-growth markets, and that our growth portfolio will become a larger part of our business over time, (5) expectations related to our revenue management programs and continuous improvement initiatives, (6) expectations related to our leverage ratio and capital requirements, (7) expected ability to identify and complete acquisitions and drive returns on invested capital,

(8) anticipated capital expenditures, and (9) expected benefits, costs and actions related to Project Summit (as defined and discussed below). These forward-looking statements are subject to various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. When we use words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates" or similar expressions, we are making forward-looking statements. Although we believe that our forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, our expected results may not be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from our expectations. In addition, important factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations include, among others:

Other risks may adversely impact us, as described more fully under "Item 1A. Risk Factors" of this Annual Report.

iii

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements except as statements of our present intentions and of our present expectations, which may or may not occur. You should read these cautionary statements as being applicable to all forward-looking statements wherever they appear. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to release publicly the result of any revision to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or otherwise. Readers are also urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures we have made in this document, as well as our other periodic reports filed with the SEC.

iv

PART I

Business Overview

We help organizations around the world protect their information, reduce storage costs, comply with regulations, facilitate corporate disaster recovery, and better use their information and IT infrastructure for business advantages, regardless of its format, location or life cycle stage. We do this by storing physical records and data backup media, offering information management solutions, and providing data center space for enterprise-class colocation and hyperscale deployments. We offer comprehensive records and information management services and data management services, along with the expertise and experience to address complex storage and information management challenges such as rising storage rental costs, legal and regulatory compliance, and disaster recovery requirements. We provide secure and reliable data center facilities to protect digital information and ensure the continued operation of our customers’ IT infrastructure, with reliable and flexible deployment options.

Founded in an underground facility near Hudson, New York in 1951, Iron Mountain Incorporated, a Delaware corporation, has more than 225,000 customers in a variety of industries in approximately 50 countries around the world, as of December 31, 2019. We currently serve customers across an array of market verticals - commercial, legal, financial, healthcare, insurance, life sciences, energy, business services, entertainment and government organizations, including approximately 96% of the Fortune 1000. As of December 31, 2019, we employed more than 25,000 people. We are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") and are a constituent of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and the MSCI REIT index. As of December 31, 2019, we were number 605 on the Fortune 1000.

We have been organized and have operated as a REIT beginning with our taxable year ended December 31, 2014.

Business Strategy

Overview

Our company has been a market leader in the physical ecosystem supporting information storage and retrieval, as most businesses have relied on paper documents or computer tapes to store their valuable information. Over time, customers are increasing their digital information, with the new information storage ecosystem being a hybrid of physical and digital mediums. We offer a suite of "mission-critical" storage and related services to help customers with this transformation, and utilize the strategy outlined below to grow our business.

Our strategy is underpinned by our persistent focus on customer experience, as we continue to seek innovative solutions to help our customers navigate the journey from physical storage to a digital ecosystem.

Project Summit

In October 2019, we announced our global program designed to better position us for future growth and achievement of our strategic objectives ("Project Summit"). Project Summit focuses on simplifying our global structure by combining our core records and information management operations under one global leader and rebalancing our resources, streamlining managerial structures and leveraging our global and regional customer facing resources. We are also implementing systems and process changes designed to make our organization more agile and dynamic, streamline our organization and reallocate our resources to better align with our strategic goals as part of Project Summit. As a result of the program, we expect to reduce the number of positions at vice president and above by approximately 45%. The total program is expected to have reduced our total managerial and administrative workforce by approximately 700 positions by the end of 2021.

The activities associated with Project Summit began in the fourth quarter of 2019 and are expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2021. We estimate that Project Summit will improve annual Adjusted EBITDA (as defined in Note 9 to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report) by approximately $200 million as program benefits are realized, with the total program benefits associated with Project Summit expected to be fully realized by the end of 2022. We estimate that the implementation of Project Summit will result in total costs of approximately $240 million.

As we simplify our global structure and combine our core records and information management operations under one global leader, we have reassessed the composition of our business segments. Our previous North American Records and Information Management Business, North American Data Management Business, Western European Business and Other International Business segments have been combined into one Global Records and Information Management ("Global RIM") Business segment with certain product lines now captured in our Corporate and Other Business segment.

Business Segments

The amount of revenues derived from our business segments and other relevant data, including financial information about geographic areas and product and service lines, for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, are set forth in Note 9 to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report.

Records Management, stores physical records, including media such as microfilm and microfiche, film, X-rays and blueprints, and provides healthcare information services, vital records services, service and courier operations, and the collection, handling and disposal of sensitive documents (collectively, "Records Management") for customers in approximately 50 countries around the globe. As of December 31, 2019, Iron Mountain stored approximately 700 million cubic feet of hardcopy records.

Data Management, provides storage and rotation of backup computer media as part of corporate disaster recovery plans, including service and courier operations (“Data Protection & Recovery”); server and computer backup services; and related services offerings, (collectively, "Data Management").

Information Governance and Digital Solutions ("IGDS"), develops, implements and supports comprehensive storage and information management solutions for the complete lifecycle of our customers' information, including the management of physical records, conversion of documents to digital formats and digital storage, primarily in the United States and Canada.

Secure Shredding, which includes the scheduled pick-up of office records that customers accumulate in specially designed secure containers we provide. Secure shredding, which involves the shredding of sensitive documents for customers that, in many cases, store their records with us, is a natural extension of our hard copy records management operations and completes the lifecycle of a record. Complementary to our shredding operations is the sale of the resultant waste paper to third-party recyclers. Through a combination of shredding facilities and mobile shredding units consisting of custom built trucks, we are able to offer secure shredding services to our customers throughout the United States, Canada and South Africa.

Consumer Storage provides on-demand, valet storage for consumers (“Consumer Storage”) across 24 markets in North America through a strategic partnership (the "MakeSpace JV") with MakeSpace Labs, Inc. (“MakeSpace”) formed in March 2019. The MakeSpace JV is intended to utilize data analytics and machine learning to provide effective customer acquisition and a convenient and seamless consumer experience.

As of December 31, 2019, our Global Data Center Business footprint spanned nine markets in the United States: Denver, Colorado; Kansas City, Missouri; Boston, Massachusetts; Boyers, Pennsylvania; Manassas, Virginia; Edison, New Jersey; Columbus, Ohio; and Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona and four international markets: Amsterdam, London, and Singapore, with land held for development in Frankfurt.

Adjacent Businesses is comprised of (i) entertainment and media which helps industry clients store, safeguard and deliver physical media of all types, and provides digital content repository systems that house, distribute, and archive key media assets, throughout the United States, Canada, France, China - Hong Kong S.A.R., the Netherlands and the United Kingdom ("Entertainment Services") and (ii) technical expertise in the handling, installation and storing of art in the United States, Canada and Europe ("Fine Arts").

Our Corporate and Other Business segment also includes costs related to executive and staff functions, including finance, human resources and IT, which benefit the enterprise as a whole, and stock-based employee compensation expense associated with all stock options, restricted stock units, performance units and shares of stock issued under our employee stock purchase plan. Additionally, our Corporate and Other Business segment includes our technology escrow services business in the United States.

Business Attributes

Our business has the following attributes:

In addition, our data center business has the following attributes:

Significant Acquisitions

We have completed many records management acquisitions over the years to achieve scale, expand geographically and broaden our offerings, but most of our records management acquisitions in recent years have been smaller in size given the fragmented nature of the records management industry. With the rapid acceleration of growth in digital data and use of cloud storage, highly regulated companies and public sector organizations are selecting third-party providers such as us to host their data center infrastructure. We have been providing customers with data center space and solutions for more than 15 years, and have significantly expanded our Global Data Center Business in the last few years through acquisitions, the most significant one being that of IO Data Centers, LLC (“IODC”). On January 10, 2018, we completed the acquisition of the United States operations of IODC, a leading data center colocation space and solutions provider based in Phoenix, Arizona, for approximately $1.34 billion (the "IODC Transaction"). See Note 6 to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report.

Competition

We compete with thousands of storage and information management services providers around the world as well as storage and information management services managed and operated internally by organizations. We believe that competition for records and information customers is based on price, reputation and reliability, quality and security of storage, quality of service and scope and scale of technology. While the majority of our competitors operate in only one market or region, we believe we provide a differentiated global offering that competes effectively in these areas.

We also compete with numerous data center developers, owners and operators, many of whom own properties similar to ours in some of the same metropolitan areas where our facilities are located. We believe that competition for data center customers is based on availability of power, security considerations, location, connectivity and rental rates, and we generally believe we compete effectively in each of these areas. Additionally, we believe our strong brand, global footprint and excellent commercial relationships enable us to compete successfully.

Employees

As of December 31, 2019, we employed more than 9,000 employees in the United States and more than 16,000 employees outside of the United States. As of December 31, 2019, approximately 550 employees in California, Georgia and New Jersey and three provinces in Canada were represented by unions in North America and approximately 1,200 employees were represented by unions in Latin America (in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico). All union employees are currently under renewed labor agreements or operating under an extension agreement.

Where applicable, employees are generally eligible to participate in our benefit programs, which may include health and welfare arrangements as well as pension programs. Certain unionized employees in California receive these types of benefits through their unions and are not eligible to participate in our benefit programs. In addition to base compensation and other usual benefits, a significant portion of full-time employees participate in some form of incentive-based compensation program that provides payments based on revenues, profits or attainment of specified objectives for the unit in which they work.

Insurance

For strategic risk transfer purposes, we maintain a comprehensive insurance program with insurers that we believe to be reputable and that have adequate capitalization in amounts that we believe to be appropriate. Property insurance is purchased on a comprehensive basis, including flood and earthquake (including excess coverage), subject to certain policy conditions, sublimits and deductibles. Property is insured based upon the replacement cost of real and personal property, including leasehold improvements, business income loss and extra expense. Other types of insurance that we carry, which are also subject to certain policy conditions, sublimits and deductibles, include medical, workers' compensation, general liability, umbrella, automobile, professional, warehouse legal liability and directors' and officers' liability policies.

Environmental Matters

Some of our current and formerly owned or leased properties were previously used by entities other than us for industrial or other purposes, or were affected by waste generated from nearby properties, that involved the use, storage, generation and/or disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, including petroleum products. In some instances, this prior use involved the operation of underground storage tanks or the presence of asbestos-containing materials. Where we are aware of environmental conditions that require remediation, we undertake appropriate activity, in accordance with all legal requirements. Although we have from time to time conducted limited environmental investigations and remedial activities at some of our former and current facilities, we have not undertaken an environmental review of all of our properties, including those we have acquired. We therefore may be potentially liable for environmental cost and may be unable to sell, rent, mortgage or use contaminated real estate owned or leased by us. Under various federal, state and local environmental laws, we may be liable for environmental compliance and remediation costs to address contamination, if any, located at owned and leased properties as well as damages arising from such contamination, whether or not we know of, or were responsible for, the contamination, or the contamination occurred while we owned or leased the property. Environmental conditions for which we might be liable may also exist at properties that we may acquire in the future. In addition, future regulatory action and environmental laws may impose costs for environmental compliance that do not exist today.

We transfer a portion of our risk of financial loss due to currently undetected environmental matters by purchasing an environmental impairment liability insurance policy, which covers all owned and leased locations. Coverage is provided for both liability and remediation costs.

Corporate Social Responsibility

We are committed to transparent reporting on sustainability and corporate responsibility efforts in accordance with the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative. Our corporate responsibility report highlights our progress against key measures of success for our efforts in the community, our environment, and for our people. We are a member of the FTSE4 Good Index, MSCI World ESG Index, MSCI ACWI ESG Index and MSCI USA IMI ESG Index, each of which include companies that meet globally recognized corporate responsibility standards. A copy of our corporate responsibility report is available on the "About Us" section of our website, www.ironmountain.com, under the heading "Corporate Social Responsibility."

Internet Website

Our Internet address is www.ironmountain.com. Under the "Investors" section on our website, we make available, free of charge, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") as soon as reasonably practicable after such forms are filed with or furnished to the SEC. We are not including the information contained on or available through our website as a part of, or incorporating such information by reference into, this Annual Report. Copies of our corporate governance guidelines, code of ethics and the charters of our audit, compensation, finance, nominating and governance, and risk and safety committees are available on the "Investors" section of our website, www.ironmountain.com, under the heading "Corporate Governance."

We face many risks. If any of the events or circumstances described below actually occur, we and our businesses, financial condition or results of operations could suffer, and the trading price of our debt or equity securities could decline. Our current and potential investors should consider the following risks and the information contained under the heading "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" before deciding to invest in our securities.

Business Risks

Our customers may shift from paper and tape storage to alternative technologies that require less physical space.

We derive most of our revenues from rental fees for the storage of physical records and computer backup tapes and from storage related services. Alternative storage technologies exist, many of which require significantly less space than traditional physical records and tape storage, and as alternative technologies are adopted, storage volume and/or requirements for storage related services may decline. For example, volumes in our Global RIM Business segment were relatively steady in 2019 and we expect them to remain relatively consistent in the near term. We can provide no assurance that our customers will continue to store most or a portion of their records as paper documents or as tapes, or that the paper documents or tapes they do store with us will require our storage related services at the same levels as they have in the past. A significant shift by our customers to storage of data through non-paper or non-tape-based technologies, whether now existing or developed in the future, could adversely affect our businesses. In addition, the digitization of records may shift our revenue mix from the more predictable storage revenue to service revenue, which is inherently more volatile.

Failure to execute our strategic growth plan may adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations.

As part of our strategic growth plan, we expect to continue to invest in our existing businesses, including records and information management storage and services businesses in our higher-growth markets, data centers and adjacent businesses, and in new businesses, business strategies, products, services, technologies and geographies, and we may selectively divest certain businesses. These initiatives may involve significant risks and uncertainties, including:

Our data center expansion in particular requires significant capital commitments. Our data center expansion and other new ventures are inherently risky and we can provide no assurance that such strategies and offerings will be successful in achieving the desired returns within a reasonable timeframe, if at all, and that they will not adversely affect our business, reputation, financial condition, and operating results.

We also face competition from other companies in our efforts to grow our data center, international and complementary businesses, some of which possess substantial financial and other resources. As a result, we may be unable to acquire, invest in, or may pay a premium purchase price for, data centers, technology and higher-growth markets and adjacent businesses that support our strategic growth plan, or we may fail to manage the growth of any businesses we acquire or invest in, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

As stored records and tapes become less active our service revenue growth and profitability from related services may decline.

Our Records Management and Data Management service revenue growth is being negatively impacted by declining activity rates as stored records and tapes are becoming less active and more archival. The amount of information available to customers digitally or in their own information systems has been steadily increasing in recent years, and we believe this trend continues to accelerate. As a result, our customers are less likely than they have been in the past to retrieve records and rotate tapes, thereby reducing their activity levels. At the same time, many of our costs related to records and tape related services remain fixed. In addition, our reputation for providing secure information storage is critical to our success, and actions to manage cost structure, such as outsourcing certain transportation, security or other functions, could negatively impact our reputation and adversely affect our business. Ultimately, if we are unable to appropriately align our cost structure with decreased levels of service activity, our operating results could be adversely affected.

Our program to simplify our global structure may not be successful.

In October 2019, we announced Project Summit, a global program designed to better position us for future growth and achievement of our strategic objectives. Project Summit focuses on simplifying our global records and information management structure, streamlining our managerial structure and leveraging our global and regional customer facing resources. As a result of the program, we expect to reduce the number of positions at vice president and above by approximately 45%. The total program is expected to have reduced our total managerial and administrative workforce by approximately 700 positions by the end of 2021. We also plan to implement systems and process changes designed to make our organization more agile and dynamic, streamline our organization and reallocate our resources to better align with our strategic goals. We expect the total program benefits associated with Project Summit to be fully realized by the end of 2022. We have included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K estimates of expected improvements to our Adjusted EBITDA and the costs (including operating and capital expenditures) we expect to incur. However, we may not be able to realize the full amount of our expected improvements to Adjusted EBITDA in a timely manner, or at all, and the costs associated Project Summit may exceed our expectations. In addition, this program may yield unintended consequences, such as attrition beyond our intended reduction in force, distraction of our employees and our anticipated systems and process changes may not work as expected and may create additional risks to o

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None.

As of December 31, 2019, we conducted operations through 1,150 leased facilities and 298 owned facilities. Our facilities are divided among our reportable operating segments as follows: Global RIM Business (1,378), Global Data Center Business (14) and Corporate and Other Business (56). These facilities contain a total of approximately 91.4 million square feet of space. A breakdown of owned and leased facilities by country (and by state within the United States) is listed below:

The leased facilities typically have initial lease terms of five to 10 years with one or more renewal options. In addition, some of the leases contain either a purchase option or a right of first refusal upon the sale of the property. We believe that the space available in our facilities is adequate to meet our current needs, although future growth may require that we lease or purchase additional real property.

Our total building utilization and total racking utilization by region as of December 31, 2019 in Records Management and Data Management are as follows:

See Note 2.m. to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for information regarding our minimum annual lease commitments as a lessee.

See Schedule III—Schedule of Real Estate and Accumulated Depreciation in this Annual Report for information regarding the cost, accumulated depreciation and encumbrances associated with our owned real estate.

The following table sets forth a summary of the lease expirations for leases in place related to our Global Data Center Business, for which we are the lessor, as of December 31, 2019. The information set forth in the table assumes that tenants exercise no renewal options and all early termination rights.

We are involved in litigation from time to time in the ordinary course of business. A portion of the defense and/or settlement costs associated with such litigation is covered by various commercial liability insurance policies purchased by us and, in limited cases, indemnification from third parties. In the opinion of management, no material legal proceedings are pending to which we, or any of our properties, are subject.

None.

PART II

Our common stock is traded on the NYSE under the symbol "IRM". The closing price of our common stock on the NYSE on February 7, 2020 was $31.83. As of February 7, 2020, there were 8,358 holders of record of our common stock. See Note 12 to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for additional information on dividends declared on our common stock.

At The Market (ATM) Equity Program

In October 2017, we established the At The Market (ATM) Equity Program. Sales of our common stock made pursuant to the Distribution Agreement may be made in negotiated transactions or transactions that are deemed to be “at the market” offerings as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), including sales made directly on the NYSE, or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange, or as otherwise agreed between the applicable Agent and us. We intend to use the net proceeds from sales of our common stock pursuant to the At The Market (ATM) Equity Program for general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions and investments, including acquisitions and investments in our Global Data Center Business, and repaying amounts outstanding from time to time under the Revolving Credit Facility (as defined in Note 4 to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report).

During the quarter and year ended December 31, 2019, there were no shares of common stock sold under the At The Market (ATM) Equity Program. As of December 31, 2019, the remaining aggregate sale price of shares of our common stock available for distribution under the At The Market (ATM) Equity Program was approximately $431.2 million.

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

We did not sell any unregistered equity securities during the three months ended December 31, 2019, nor did we repurchase any shares of our common stock during the three months ended December 31, 2019.

The following selected consolidated statements of operations, balance sheets and other data have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements. The selected consolidated financial and operating information set forth below should be read in conjunction with "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and our Consolidated Financial Statements and the Notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with "Item 6. Selected Financial Data" and the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto and the other financial and operating information included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

This discussion contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and in other securities laws. See "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" on page iii of this Annual Report and "Item 1A. Risk Factors" beginning on page 7 of this Annual Report.

Overview

Project Summit

In October 2019, we announced Project Summit. Project Summit focuses on simplifying our global structure by combining our core records and information management operations under one global leader and rebalancing our resources, streamlining managerial structures and leveraging our global and regional customer facing resources. We are also implementing systems and process changes designed to make our organization more agile and dynamic, streamline our organization and reallocate our resources to better align with our strategic goals as part of Project Summit. As a result of the program, we expect to reduce the number of positions at vice president and above by approximately 45%. The total program is expected to have reduced our total managerial and administrative workforce by approximately 700 positions by the end of 2021.

The activities associated with Project Summit began in the fourth quarter of 2019 and are expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2021. We expect the total program benefits associated with Project Summit to be fully realized by the end of 2022. We estimate that Project Summit will improve Adjusted EBITDA (as defined below) by approximately $200.0 million by the end of 2022. We expect Project Summit to improve Adjusted EBITDA by approximately $80.0 million in 2020, of which we expect to realize approximately $50.0 million of Adjusted EBITDA improvement as a result of the actions initiated during the fourth quarter of 2019. We will continue to evaluate our overall operating model, as well as various opportunities and initiatives, including those associated with real estate consolidation, system implementation and process changes, which could result in the identification and implementation of additional actions associated with Project Summit and incremental costs and benefits.

We estimate that the implementation of Project Summit will result in total costs (including operating expenditures ("Restructuring Charges") and capital expenditures) of approximately $240.0 million. During the fourth quarter of 2019, we incurred approximately $48.6 million of costs related to Project Summit, which were comprised entirely of Restructuring Charges primarily related to employee severance costs and professional fees.

During the fourth quarter of 2019, as a result of the realignment of our global managerial structure and changes to our internal financial reporting associated with Project Summit, we reassessed the composition of our reportable operating segments and reporting units. As a result of the managerial structure changes associated with Project Summit, we now have the following reportable operating segments: (i) Global RIM Business (which consists of the former North American Records and Information Management Business (excluding our technology escrow services business, which is now included as a component of our Corporate and Other Business segment), North American Data Management Business, Western European Business and Other International Business); (ii) Global Data Center Business; and (iii) Corporate and Other Business (which includes our Adjacent Businesses and our technology escrow services business). As a result of these changes, previously reported segment information has been restated to conform to the current presentation.

IODC Acquisition

On January 10, 2018, we completed the IODC Transaction and at the closing of the IODC Transaction, we paid approximately $1,347.0 million. In February 2019, we paid approximately $31.0 million in additional purchase price associated with the execution of customer contracts from the closing through the one-year anniversary of the IODC Transaction. See Note 6 to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for unaudited pro forma results of operations for us and IODC for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, as if the IODC Transaction was completed on January 1, 2017.

Divestments

a. Consumer Storage Transaction

On March 19, 2019, we contributed our customer contracts and certain intellectual property and other assets used by us to operate our consumer storage business in the United States and Canada (the "IM Consumer Storage Assets") and approximately $20.0 million in cash (gross of certain transaction expenses) (the "Cash Contribution") to the MakeSpace JV (the "Consumer Storage Transaction"). Upon the closing of the Consumer Storage Transaction on March 19, 2019, the MakeSpace JV owned (i) the IM Consumer Storage Assets, (ii) the Cash Contribution and (iii) the customer contracts, intellectual property and certain other assets used by MakeSpace to operate its consumer storage business in the United States. As part of the Consumer Storage Transaction, we received an equity interest of approximately 34% in the MakeSpace JV (the "MakeSpace Investment").

As described in Note 13 to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report, the divestment of the IM Consumer Storage Assets in the Consumer Storage Transaction does not meet the criteria to be reported as discontinued operations in our consolidated financial statements. In connection with the Consumer Storage Transaction and the MakeSpace Investment, we also entered into a storage and service agreement with the MakeSpace JV to provide certain storage and related services to the MakeSpace JV (the "MakeSpace Agreement"). Revenues and expenses associated with the MakeSpace Agreement are presented as a component of our Global RIM Business segment. We recognized approximately $22.5 million of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2019 associated with the MakeSpace Agreement.

As a result of the Consumer Storage Transaction, we recorded a gain on sale of approximately $4.2 million to Other expense (income), net, in the first quarter of 2019, representing the excess of the fair value of the consideration received over the sum of (i) carrying value of our consumer storage operations and (ii) the Cash Contribution.

b. IMFS Divestment

On September 28, 2018, Iron Mountain Fulfillment Services, Inc. ("IMFS"), a consolidated subsidiary of IMI that operated our fulfillment services business in the United States, sold substantially all of its assets for total consideration of approximately $3.0 million (the "IMFS Divestment"). We have concluded that the IMFS Divestment does not meet the criteria to be reported as discontinued operations in our consolidated financial statements, as our decision to divest this business does not represent a strategic shift that will have a major effect on our operations and financial results. Accordingly, the revenues and expenses associated with this business are presented as a component of Income (loss) from continuing operations in our Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 and the cash flows associated with this business are presented as a component of cash flows from continuing operations in our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 through the sale date. The fair value of the consideration received as a result of the IMFS Divestment approximated the carrying value of IMFS and, therefore, during the third quarter of 2018, we recorded an insignificant loss in connection with the IMFS Divestment to Other (income) expense, net. Our IMFS business represe

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Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject us to credit risk consist principally of cash and cash equivalents (including money market funds and time deposits) and accounts receivable. The only significant concentrations of liquid investments as of December 31, 2019 relate to cash and cash equivalents held in money market funds with seven "Triple A" rated money market funds. As per our risk management investment policy, we limit exposure to concentration of credit risk by limiting the amount invested in any one mutual fund to a maximum of 1% of the fund total assets or in any one financial institution to a maximum of $50.0 million. As of December 31, 2019, our cash and cash equivalents balance, including restricted cash, was $193.6 million.

Interest Rate Risk

Given the recurring nature of our revenues and the long-term nature of our asset base, we have the ability and the preference to use long-term, fixed interest rate debt to finance our business at attractive rates, thereby helping to preserve our long-term returns on invested capital. We target approximately 75% of our debt portfolio to be fixed with respect to interest rates. Occasionally, we may use interest rate swaps as a tool to maintain our targeted level of fixed rate debt.

In March 2018, we entered into interest rate swap agreements to limit our exposure to changes in interest rates on a portion of our floating rate indebtedness. As of December 31, 2019, we had $350.0 million in notional value of interest rate swap agreements outstanding, which expire in March 2022. Under the interest rate swap agreements, we receive variable rate interest payments associated with the notional amount of each interest rate swap, based upon one-month LIBOR, in exchange for the payment of fixed interest rate payments (at the fixed interest rate specified in the interest rate swap agreements).

In July 2019, we entered into forward-starting interest rate swap agreements to limit our exposure to changes in interest rates on a portion of our floating rate indebtedness once our current interest rate swaps expire in March 2022. The forward-starting interest rate swap agreements have $350.0 million in notional value, commence in March 2022 and expire in March 2024. Under the swap agreements we will receive variable rate interest payments based upon one-month LIBOR, in exchange for the payment of fixed interest rate payments at the rates specified in the interest rate swap agreements. We have designated these interest rate swap agreements as cash flow hedges.

As of December 31, 2019, we had $1,692.5 million of variable rate debt outstanding with a weighted average variable interest rate of approximately 3.8%, and $7,059.0 million of fixed rate debt outstanding. As of December 31, 2019, approximately 81% of our total debt outstanding was fixed. If the weighted average variable interest rate on our variable rate debt had increased by 1%, our net income for the year ended December 31, 2019 would have been reduced by approximately $18.6 million.

See Note 3 to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for a discussion on our interest rate swaps and Note 4 to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for a discussion of our long-term indebtedness, including the fair values of such indebtedness as of December 31, 2019.

Currency Risk

Our international investments may be subject to risks and uncertainties related to fluctuations in currency valuation. Our reporting currency is the United States dollar. However, our international revenues and expenses are generated in the currencies of the countries in which we operate, primarily the British pound sterling, Euro, Canadian dollar, Brazilian real and the Australian dollar. Declines in the value of the local currencies in which we are paid relative to the United States dollar will cause revenues in United States dollar terms to decrease and dollar-denominated liabilities to increase in local currency.

The impact of currency fluctuations on our earnings is mitigated by the fact that most operating and other expenses are also incurred and paid in the local currency. We also have several intercompany obligations between our foreign subsidiaries and IMI and our United States-based subsidiaries. In addition, our foreign subsidiaries and IME also have intercompany obligations between them. These intercompany obligations are primarily denominated in the local currency of the foreign subsidiary.

We have adopted and implemented a number of strategies to mitigate the risks associated with fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. One strategy is to finance certain of our international subsidiaries with debt that is denominated in local currencies, thereby providing a natural hedge. In determining the amount of any such financing, we take into account local tax considerations, among other factors. Another strategy we utilize is for IMI or IMIM, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IMI, to borrow in foreign currencies to hedge our intercompany financing activities. In addition, on occasion, we enter into currency swaps to temporarily or permanently hedge an overseas investment, such as a major acquisition, to lock in certain transaction economics. We have implemented these strategies for our foreign investments in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Latin America and continental Europe. IM UK has financed a portion of its capital needs through the issuance in British pounds sterling of the GBP Notes due 2025. Our Australian business has financed a portion of its capital needs through direct borrowings in Australian dollars under the AUD Term Loan. Similarly, Iron Mountain Canada Operations ULC has financed a portion of its capital needs through direct borrowings in Canadian dollars under the Credit Agreement and through the issuance of the CAD Notes due 2023. This creates a tax efficient natural currency hedge.

During the year ended December 31, 2019, we designated a portion of the Euro Notes as a hedge of net investment of certain of our Euro denominated subsidiaries. As a result, we recorded $6.0 million ($6.0 million net of tax) of foreign exchange gains related to the "marking-to-market" of such debt to currency translation adjustments which is a component of Accumulated other comprehensive items, net included in our Consolidated Balance Sheet for the year ended December 31, 2019. As of December 31, 2019, cumulative net gains of $20.3 million, net of tax are recorded in Accumulated other comprehensive items, net associated with this net investment hedge.

In August 2019, we entered into cross-currency swap agreements to hedge the variability of exchange rate impacts between the United States dollar and the Euro. Under the terms of the cross-currency swap agreements we notionally exchanged approximately $110.0 million at an interest rate of 6.0% for approximately 99.1 million Euros at a weighted average interest rate of approximately 3.65%. The cross-currency swap agreements, which expire in August 2023, are designated as a hedge of net investment against certain of our Euro denominated subsidiaries and require an exchange of the notional amounts at maturity. The cross-currency swaps are marked to market at each reporting period and any changes in fair value are recognized as a component of Accumulated other comprehensive items, net. Unrealized gains are recognized as assets while unrecognized losses are recognized as liabilities. At December 31, 2019, we had a derivative liability of $1.0 million, which was recorded as a component of Other within Other assets, net in our Consolidated Balance Sheet, which represents the fair value of the cross-currency swap agreements. We have recorded unrealized losses of $1.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2019.

As of December 31, 2019, we had no outstanding forward contracts. At the maturity of any forward contract, we may enter into a new forward contract to hedge movements in the underlying currencies. At the time of settlement, we either pay or receive the net settlement amount from any forward contract and recognize this amount in Other expense (income), net in the accompanying statements of operations as a realized foreign exchange gain or loss. At the end of each month, we mark the outstanding forward contracts to market and record an unrealized foreign exchange gain or loss for the mark-to-market valuation. We have not designated any of the forward contracts we have entered as hedges. During the year ended December 31, 2019, cash payments included in cash from operating activities from continuing operations related to settlements associated with foreign currency forward contracts were $0.7 million. We recorded net losses in connection with forward contracts of $0.7 million related to the forward contracts in Other expense (income), net as of December 31, 2019 in the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report. As of December 31, 2019, except as noted above, our currency exposures to intercompany balances are not hedged.

The impact of devaluation or depreciating currency on an entity depends on the residual effect on the local economy and the ability of an entity to raise prices and/or reduce expenses. Due to our constantly changing currency exposure and the potential substantial volatility of currency exchange rates, we cannot predict the effect of exchange fluctuations on our business. The effect of a change in foreign currency exchange rates on our net investment in foreign subsidiaries is reflected in the "Accumulated Other Comprehensive Items, net" component of equity. A 10% depreciation in year-end 2019 functional currencies, relative to the United States dollar, would result in a reduction in our equity of approximately $257.8 million.

The information required by this item is included in Item 15(a) of this Annual Report.

None.

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

The term "disclosure controls and procedures" is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act. These rules refer to the controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information is recorded, processed, accumulated, summarized, communicated and reported to management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding what is required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files under the Exchange Act. As of December 31, 2019 (the "Evaluation Date"), we carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures. Based upon that evaluation, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer concluded that, as of the Evaluation Date, our disclosure controls and procedures are effective.

Management's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management, with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act. Our internal control system is designed to provide reasonable assurance to our management and board of directors regarding the preparation and fair presentation of published financial statements. Due to their inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risks that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate. Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this evaluation, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2019.

The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting has been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which is included in this Annual Report.

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the shareholders and the Board of Directors of Iron Mountain Incorporated

Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of Iron Mountain Incorporated and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2019, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2019, of the Company and our report dated February 13, 2020, expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements and included an explanatory paragraph regarding the Company’s adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), as amended.

Basis for Opinion

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

A company's internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company's internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company's assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP

Boston, Massachusetts

February 13, 2020

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management, with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act. Our internal control system is designed to provide reasonable assurance to our management and board of directors regarding the preparation and fair presentation of published financial statements.

In the ordinary course of business, we may routinely modify, upgrade or enhance our internal controls and procedures for financial reporting. During the last two months of the year ended December 31, 2019, we reorganized certain internal controls as a result of Project Summit. However, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Securities Act of 1934) during the quarter ended December 31, 2019 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

None.

PART III

The information required by Item 10 is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement.

The information required by Item 11 is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement.

The information required by Item 12 is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement.

The information required by Item 13 is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement.

The information required by Item 14 is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement.

PART IV

(a) Financial Statements filed as part of this report:

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the shareholders and the Board of Directors of Iron Mountain Incorporated

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Iron Mountain Incorporated and subsidiaries (the "Company") as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), equity, and cash flows, for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2019, and the related notes and the schedule listed in the Index at Item 15 (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2019, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 13, 2020, expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting.

Change in Accounting Principle

As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company changed its method of accounting for leases in 2019 due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), as amended, using the modified retrospective approach.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matter

The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.

Goodwill - Global Data Center Reporting Unit - Refer to Note 2.h. to the financial statements

Critical Audit Matter Description

The Company’s evaluation of goodwill for impairment involves the comparison of the fair value of each reporting unit to its carrying value. The Company determined the fair value of the Global Data Center reporting unit using a combined approach based on the present value of future cash flows (the "Discounted Cash Flow Model") and market multiples (the "Market Approach"). The determination of the fair value using the Discounted Cash Flow Model requires management to make significant assumptions related to future revenue growth rates, operating margins, discount rates and capital expenditures. The determination of the fair value using the Market Approach requires management to make significant assumptions related to adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("Adjusted EBITDA") multiples. Changes in economic and operating conditions impacting these assumptions or changes in multiples could result in goodwill impairments in future periods. The goodwill balance allocated to the Global Data Center reporting unit was $421 million as of October 1, 2019 (goodwill impairment testing date). The fair value of the Global Data Center reporting unit exceeded its carrying value as of the measurement date and, therefore, no impairment was recognized.

The Global Data Center reporting unit's fair value exceeded its carrying value by less than 10%, accordingly, auditing the assumptions used in the goodwill impairment analysis for this reporting unit involved especially subjective judgment.

How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit

Our audit procedures related to future revenue growth rates, operating margins and capital expenditures (collectively, the "Forecast"), Adjusted EBITDA multiples and the selection of discount rates for the Global Data Center reporting unit included the following, among others:

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Not applicable.

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

Certain exhibits indicated below are incorporated by reference to documents we have filed with the SEC. Each exhibit marked by a pound sign (#) is a management contract or compensatory plan.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Dated: February 13, 2020

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.