Americold Realty Trust announced that the Company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Chiller Holdco, LLC (“Cloverleaf Cold Storage” or “Cloverleaf”) from Cloverleaf management and an investor group led by private equity funds managed by Blackstone for a purchase price of $1.24 billion (subject to customary adjustments). The closing of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2019.
Founded in 1952 and based in Sioux City, Iowa , Cloverleaf is the fifth largest cold storage provider in the United States by refrigerated cubic feet and serves over 360 customers. The portfolio to be acquired consists of 22 facilities, of which 21 are owned and one is managed, totaling 132 million refrigerated cubic feet. Cloverleaf’s assets are located in nine states in the Central and Southeastern United States , which are complementary to Americold’s existing geographic reach and expands the Company’s focus in the growing protein business segment.
This acquisition enhances the Company’s position as the leading global owner and operator of temperature-controlled infrastructure while expanding relationships with existing high quality customers. Upon closing, Americold’s portfolio will consist of over one billion refrigerated cubic feet, which provides the Company with greater density and diversification to better service its customers.
“We welcome Cloverleaf to the Americold family. We have long admired Cloverleaf, the families that founded them and the associates that helped earn them a great reputation in our industry. We have a similar degree of respect for Zero Mountain , which was recently acquired by Cloverleaf. We will accelerate and enhance Cloverleaf’s recently implemented initiatives by leveraging Americold’s commercial platform, institutional quality management and the Americold Operating System (AOS),” said Fred Boehler , President and Chief Executive Officer of Americold Realty Trust .
BofA Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC are acting as exclusive financial advisors to Americold. King & Spalding LLP is acting as legal advisor to Americold.
Wells Fargo Securities and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. are acting as exclusive financial advisors to Cloverleaf and Blackstone . Kirkland & Ellis LLP is acting as legal advisor to Cloverleaf and Blackstone.
Americold Realty Trust to Expand and Enhance Infrastructure Network in Atlanta
Americold Realty Trust announced that the Company intends to invest a total of approximately$126 million to$136 million in a planned expansion and redevelopment at its existingAtlanta major market campus, consisting of its Tradewater,Gateway , Westgate, Southgate, and Skygate facilities.
“Given the supply-demand characteristics for temperature-controlled infrastructure inAtlanta , we are extremely pleased to announce our plans to expand our operations in this key market, which we believe will allow us to support new and existing customer growth,” statedFred Boehler , President and Chief Executive Officer ofAmericold Realty Trust . “Furthermore, the expansion of ourAtlanta major market campus, and our previously announced development at thePort of Savannah , together will grow our total capacity in the state by over 50% by 2021. We believe this targeted investment will enhance efficiencies for both Americold and its customers, and ultimately drive increased profitability and additional long term shareholder value.
Americold is investing approximately $126 million to $136 million in total in new fully automated and semi-automated expansion projects and select redevelopment of its existing Atlanta major market cold-storage infrastructure. The investment will provide additional capacity to support existing customer growth, facilitate capture of new business, improve service capabilities and efficiency, and increase campus profitability.
The Company intends to demolish part of an existing facility at its Gateway facility, and build a first to market, fully automated facility with approximately 46,600 pallet positions. At its Tradewater facility, the Company expects to build a semi-automated expansion, adding approximately 13,600 pallet positions. The Company also intends to invest capital at its Westgate, Southgate and Skygate facilities on projects intended to enhance efficiencies and better serve its growing customer base.
The Company expects to begin this program in the first quarter of 2020, with completion of the projects targeted for the second quarter of 2021. The Company anticipates that the returns on this investment will be consistent with the Company’s stated return expectations for such projects upon stabilization.
