BUZZ — Australia's Abacus Group gains on stake sale in Storage King

* Shares of Abacus Group rise as much as 4.4% to A$0.883 in early trade, their highest level since August 31 * Stock logs largest intraday pct gain since late August * Diversified REIT to sell a 19.6% interest in Storage King Group for gross proceeds of A$284.8 million ($202.69 million) * Says Storage King investment no longer considered core to co's long-term strategy * Says 10.37% stake would be sold to Ki Corp at A$1.20 per security, rest 9.23% via block trade * Storage King shares fall 1.9% to A$1.055 * Abacus stock down 28.3% YTD, including the day's move ($1 = 1.4051 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru) ((Nikita.Jino@thomsonreuters.com;)