ATLANTA–Americold Realty Trust (NYSE: COLD) (the “Company” or “Americold”), the world’s largest publicly traded REIT focused on the ownership, operation and development of temperature-controlled warehouses, announced today that the Company has acquired privately-held Lanier Cold Storage for $82 million.
Lanier Cold Storage consists of two temperature-controlled storage facilities, which total over 14 million refrigerated cubic feet and approximately 51,000 pallet positions. The facilities, located in Gainesville, Georgia and Lula, Georgia, are served by major highways and railways and are designed to supply poultry and other products to markets across the U.S. The acquisition will complement Americold’s existing 3.8 million refrigerated cubic foot facility in Gainesville, which is considered by many to be the “poultry capital of the world.” The poultry industry contributes over $18.4 billion to the Georgia economy each year¹.
“We welcome Lanier Cold Storage and its associates to the Americold family. We admire and respect the business that Lanier’s owners – Larry Glover and Preston Bowen – have built and appreciate their great reputation in the poultry industry. We intend to enhance Lanier’s business model by leveraging Americold’s commercial platform and the Americold Operating System (AOS),” said Fred Boehler, President and Chief Executive Officer of Americold Realty Trust.
The returns for the acquisition are consistent with the Company’s stated return expectations for such projects upon integration.
Preston Bowen, Lanier Cold Storage’s Owner and CEO, commented: “When Larry and I founded Lanier Cold Storage in 2000, our vision was to create a company that offered cold storage solutions by emphasizing operational excellence and unwavering customer service. We are thrilled to partner with Americold and believe that this transaction will provide enhanced opportunities for both our customers as well as our Lanier Cold Storage Associates.”
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements about future events and expectations that constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s beliefs, assumptions and expectations of its future financial and operating performance and growth plans, taking into account the information currently available to the Company. These statements are not statements of historical fact. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from the expectations of future results the Company expresses or implies 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 the integration of Lanier Cold Storage into the Company’s business.
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. The Company qualifies any forward-looking statements entirely by these cautionary factors. Other risks, uncertainties and factors, including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements the Company makes. The Company assumes 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.
About Americold Realty Trust
Americold is the world’s largest publicly traded REIT focused on the ownership, operation and development of temperature-controlled warehouses. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Americold owns and operates 155 temperature-controlled warehouses, with approximately 918.7 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.
¹Source: GeorgiaInfo.
