ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Americold Realty Trust (NYSE: COLD), (the “Company” or “Americold”), the
world’s largest owner and operator of temperature-controlled facilities
and infrastructure, today announced that the Company has acquired
privately-held PortFresh Holdings, LLC (“PortFresh”), a leading
temperature-controlled operator servicing fresh produce trade primarily
through the Port of Savannah. In connection with its acquisition of
PortFresh, Americold plans to build a new 15 million cubic foot
state-of-the-art cold storage facility on adjacent land owned by
PortFresh. The total cost of the acquisition, including approximately
163 acres of contiguous land, is approximately $35 million. The cost of
the planned new build is expected to be between $55 to $65 million.
Americold funded the acquisition with cash on hand and expects to fund
the development from available capital resources.
“The Port of Savannah is one of the fastest growing ports in the United
States and has seen increased traffic of temperature-controlled trade.
With this investment, Americold is fulfilling our customers’ requests to
expand into this growing market, which provides an efficient and
cost-effective solution to meet their import and export needs. We
believe this development project represents a significant long term
growth opportunity for the Company, as we continue to grow our scale and
develop our partnership with the Port of Savannah,” said Fred Boehler,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Americold Realty Trust.
The planned new facility will feature 37,000 pallet positions, advanced
blast freezing capabilities, and space and infrastructure to support
refrigerated-containerized trade. Americold expects to begin
construction on the new facility in the first half of 2019, with the
opening expected to be in the first quarter of 2020.
The Port of Savannah imported 1.8 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent
units) of containerized cargo in 2017, a 10.6% increase over 2016,
making it the nation’s fourth-largest port, as reported by the 2018 U.S.
Ports Report from Descartes Datamyne. The port’s Southern US location,
ocean carrier network and access to transportation channels, including
to growing markets in South America and Europe, reduces transportation
time as compared to Northeastern ports, which require additional
trucking and transport. The Port of Savannah continues to expand and has
a stated strategy to double its storage capacity with its partners in
the next 10 years.
“The Georgia Ports Authority is pleased to welcome Americold to the
Savannah market,” said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. “This
announcement represents yet another expansion of Savannah’s position as
a hub for the handling of cold and chilled cargoes, and complements the
port’s continued on-terminal development of refrigerated cargo
infrastructure.”
Brian Kastick, PortFresh’s Founder and CEO, has joined Americold with
this acquisition and will help to grow the Company’s fresh produce
business initiatives. “I am delighted to join the Americold platform at
this exciting time. PortFresh has developed the import market for
temperature controlled logistics in the Port of Savannah. I believe that
Americold’s brand, platform and operational expertise will enhance
PortFresh’s capabilities to serve both our existing and new customers,”
stated Kastick.
The returns for the development project and acquisition are consistent
with the Company’s stated return expectations for such projects upon
stabilization.
About Americold
Americold is the world’s largest owner and operator of
temperature-controlled warehouses. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Americold
owns and operates 156 temperature-controlled warehouses (as of September
30, 2018), with approximately 928 million refrigerated cubic feet of
storage, in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and
Argentina. Americold’s facilities are an integral component of the
supply chain connecting food producers, processors, distributors and
retailers to consumers.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements about future events and
expectations that constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations of our
future financial and operating performance and growth plans, taking into
account the information currently available to us. These statements are
not statements of historical fact. Forward-looking statements involve
risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to differ
materially from the expectations of future results we express or imply
in any forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue
reliance on such statements. Factors that could contribute to these
differences include, but are not limited to, risks related to expansions
of existing properties and developments of new properties and recently
announced development projects, including failure to meet budgeted or
stabilized returns in respect thereof and risks related to the method of
settlement of the forward sale agreement, and the form and amount of
proceeds of such settlement.
Words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “continues,” “estimates,”
“expects,” “goal,” “objectives,” “intends,” “may,” “opportunity,”
“plans,” “potential,” “near-term,” “long-term,” “projections,”
“assumptions,” “projects,” “guidance,” “forecasts,” “outlook,” “target,”
“trends,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “will” and similar expressions are
intended to identify such forward-looking statements. We assume no
obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements for any
reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially
from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new
information becomes available in the future.
View source version on businesswire.com:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190131005842/en/
Media:
Sean Tetpon
Telephone: 404-426-0832
Email: sean.tetpon@americold.com
Investor
Relations
Telephone: 678-459-1959
Email: investor.relations@americold.com
Source: Americold Realty Trust