Emergent Cold, which ranks as Australia’s leading provider of refrigerated warehousing, transport and other cold chain logistics services, announced on May 28 that it will purchase Melbourne-based Oxford Cold Storage for an undisclosed price. The deal, subject to regulatory approval by government authorities, compliments the buyer’s strategy of expanding in the Asia-Pacific region and creating a global network of cold chain businesses.
In 1951 the Fleiszig and the Stern families established Cambridge Poultry Distributors in South Yarra. Twenty years later, they relocated their operations across Melbourne to be closer to the meat hub in North Laverton. In 1975, Oxford was established to serve neighboring meat producers. Today’s operation spans a 24-hectare site in Victoria.
Commenting on the transaction, Paul Fleiszig, Oxford’s operations and marketing director, said: “This is a very exciting time for the our business. The Emergent acquisition gives our staff with increased opportunities and career development. It will also provide for the opportunity to service clients across Emergent’s substantial geographical footprint and increase our service offerings.”
Emergent Cold, founded in 2017 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, USA, has grown significantly through a combination of acquisitions and new greenfield developments and now has a network of 42 coldstores in five countries including New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. It has capacity for more than 300,000 pallets maintained in over 75 million cubic feet of temperature-controlled space. In Vietnam the company offers in excess of 40,000 pallet positions in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
Neal J. Rider, chief executive officer and co-founder of Emergent Cold, stated: “We look forward to welcoming the Oxford Cold Storage team to our network. Combining Oxford with our platform will further strengthen our offering to the Australian and international market.”
Emergent Cold became the leading player in the Australia’s refrigerated warehousing market after acquiring Swire Cold Storage’s 15 facilities Down Under, as well as its warehouse business in Vietnam in a deal sealed in late last December of 2017.
According to a report published in the Financial Review in February of 2018, Swire Cold Storage and its subsidiaries generated revenue of $168.9 million during the 12 months ending on December 31, 2016. It posted net profits after tax of $58.5 million for the period, up from $4.4 million in 2015. At the end of 2016 the company had assets worth $333 million with property, plant and equipment accounting for $211.5 million of the total.
