“Food producers, manufacturers and retailers are looking for cold chain partners who can offer a dynamic and truly end-to-end temperature-controlled logistics solution, and one that can reach every corner of the world,” said Greg Lehmkuhl, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lineage. “Welcoming Emergent to the Lineage family not only adds significant capacity to our international footprint, but also deepens our commitment to our port strategy and international trade. We are better able to help customers respond to constantly shifting market dynamics, such as global network optimization, tariff impacts, consumer preference shifts, and much more, while at the same time unlocking new potential market opportunities to sell their goods.”
Following closing of the transactions, the combined Company will feature over 1.7 billion cubic feet of temperature-controlled capacity across 260 facilities in 10 countries, with a global footprint that now spans North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. With the acquisition, Lineage adds a newly constructed distribution center in the Dallas-Fort Worth market as well as four U.S. port facilities in New Orleans, Houston and Charleston to its expansive network of locations supporting import, export and customs brokerage services for its customers. The transaction also includes the purchase of real estate at select facility sites currently leased by Emergent under long-term lease agreements.
Emergent, which was founded in 2017 by Elliott Management and Neal Rider, brings to Lineage an experienced management team with a proven track record of growth and longstanding relationships with customers in global markets.
“Joining Lineage accelerates our goal of providing the highest quality global cold chain solutions to our customers,” said Neal Rider, Emergent’s founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Lineage has established itself as a leader in our industry, and expanding its global footprint and port presence with the addition of Emergent will create incredible opportunities for our collective customers. I also want to thank Elliott Management for believing in and backing us when Emergent Cold was just an idea, and our Executive Chairman Chris Jamroz for his tireless leadership and support. Their partnership, support and expertise has been critical in driving Emergent’s success, and we are looking forward to the next chapter with Bay Grove and Lineage.”
“We partnered with Neal because we saw a compelling opportunity to support his vision for building a globally significant cold storage company,” said Cody Kittle, Associate Portfolio Manager at Elliott Management. “In less than two years, we were able to acquire seven high-performing businesses and launch two greenfield facilities across six countries and four continents, while driving significant top and bottom line improvement across our operations. We congratulate Neal, the Emergent team and Lineage, who we think is a well-suited partner for Emergent. We are looking forward to remaining equity holders in the combined entity.”
“As an innovative leader in global cold storage, we look forward to making Emergent part of the Lineage team,” said Chris Jamroz, Emergent’s Executive Chairman.
“We have been following Emergent’s impressive growth trajectory and have a long-standing respect for their management team. We’re excited to bring their capabilities, relationships and growth pipeline into our organization,” said Kevin Marchetti, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Bay Grove, the principal investment firm backing Lineage. “Together, our teams are committed to strengthening our important relationships with customers by leveraging our expansive network and applying innovative solutions to their most pressing challenges.”
The transactions also position Lineage to take advantage of growing demand for cold storage space in Australia – a sector valued at $5 billion – and in neighboring New Zealand, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. The sector is rapidly evolving and is an integral part of Asia-Pacific’s domestic and international supply chains for food products including dairy, seafood, raw and cooked meat, poultry, frozen vegetables and other frozen or chilled foods. Once the deal closes, Lineage will be poised to help customers meet growing export demand and their need for a more expansive supply chain.
Since its founding in 2008, Lineage has expanded rapidly by acquiring best-in-class cold storage companies, deploying capital into new projects and growing the business organically. The Company’s acquisition of Emergent builds on its past successes in integrating complementary companies into its portfolio.
Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal advisor to Bay Grove and Lineage in this transaction. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP served as legal advisor to Emergent.
The transactions are expected to close in 2020, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
About Lineage Logistics
Lineage is the world’s largest and most innovative provider of temperature-controlled logistics solutions. Lineage’s expertise in end-to-end logistical solutions, its unrivaled facility network, and its use of technology combine to promote food safety, increase distribution efficiency, advance sustainability, lessen environmental impact, and minimize supply chain waste. As a result, Lineage helps customers ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small family-owned businesses increase the efficiency and protect the integrity of their temperature-controlled supply chain. In recognition of the company’s leading innovations, Lineage was recognized as the No 1. Data Science company on Fast Company’s Annual list of The World’s Most Innovative Companies in 2019, in addition to ranking 23rd overall in an evaluation of thousands of companies worldwide. (www.lineagelogistics.com)
About Emergent Cold
Emergent Cold was founded in 2017 with the vision to be the leading global cold chain services partner for its customers and is already among the largest temperature-controlled service providers in the southern hemisphere. Emergent Cold has grown through a combination of acquisitions and greenfield developments and has a network of 46 cold stores in six countries. (www.emergentcold.com)