Atlanta, Georgia-headquartered Americold Realty Trust has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Cloverleaf Cold Storage (Chiller Holdco, LLC) from Cloverleaf management and an investor group led by private equity funds managed by Blackstone. The $1.24 billion transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2019.
Founded in 1952 by the Kaplan and Feiges families, and based in Sioux City, Iowa, Cloverleaf is the fifth largest cold storage provider in the United States, serving over 360 customers. The portfolio to be acquired consists of 22 facilities, of which 21 are owned and one is managed, totaling 132 million cubic feet of refrigerated space. Cloverleaf’s assets are situated in nine states in the Central and Southeastern United States, which are complementary to Americold’s existing geographic reach and expands its focus in the growing protein business segment.
This purchase enhances Americold’s position as the world’s largest publicly traded REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) focused on the ownership, operation and development of temperature-controlled warehouses. Upon closing, its portfolio will consist of over one billion cubic feet of refrigerated space in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Argentina.
In announcing the deal on April 16, Fred Boehler, president and chief executive officer of Americold Realty Trust, commented: “We have long admired Cloverleaf, its founding families 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. Its recently implemented initiatives will be accelerated and enhanced by leveraging Americold’s commercial platform, institutional quality management and operating system.”
