Cloverleaf Cold Storage, a Sioux City, Iowa-headquartered cold storage warehousing and food logistics company owned by the Feiges and Kaplan families since its founding in 1952, has entered into a definitive agreement with the Blackstone Group to recapitalize the business. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, the New York-based private equity specialist will make a majority investment in Cloverleaf alongside the existing family shareholders, who will continue to run operations post-closing.
“We are focused on building our business for the long-term, continuing to deliver our customers best-in-class service and supporting our communities,” said Daniel Kaplan, Cloverleaf’s co-president. “Our partnership with a world-class firm such as Blackstone provides us with significant capital and operating resources to invest for growth and continue to expand our platform.”
With 90,648,842 cubic feet of space currently utilized by over 800 customers, Cloverleaf is ranked as the eighth largest cold storage operator in North America by the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses. Its network of 19 facilities in eight states spanning the Midwestern to Southeastern USA provides a variety of food grade storage, handling and freezing services. Its Farmers Produce division offers value-added processing and logistics services to the meat processing industry.
“The Feiges and Kaplan families’ multi-decade commitment to building Cloverleaf into a leading cold storage platform is very impressive,” said Seth Meisel, a senior managing director at Blackstone. “We are excited to partner with them and their outstanding management team, and look forward to supporting the company’s continued growth and expansion.”
