Food supply chain warehouse operator Americold Realty Trust (NYSE: COLD) announced three facility acquisitions in a pair of deals after the close of Monday’s trading session.
The Atlanta-based real estate investment trust announced that it has purchased a newly constructed cold storage facility in Tampa, Florida, for $25 million and closed on the previously announced acquisition of AM-C Warehouses in Texas for $82.5 million.
Both deals were funded with cash.
“By growing our network of strategically located cold storage facilities, we continue to offer even greater value to new and existing customers, with the expertise that only Americold can provide,” stated President and CEO Fred Boehler in a press release.
The Tampa facility has 3.2 million cubic feet, 12,400 pallet positions and blast freezing capabilities. In addition to the cash purchase price, Americold has allocated another $500,000 in capital expenditures to the facility. The company already has two temperature-controlled facilities in the region. The prior owner operated the facility near breakeven, but Americold said it expects to see stabilized yields in the 9% to 10% range by the end of 2023.
“Our Tampa transaction complements our existing Florida presence, as we opportunistically added a recently built facility at an attractive price. We believe we will be able to increase the asset’s profitability over time by putting into practice our commercial business rules, enhancing the customer mix, and implementing the Americold Operating System,” said Boehler.
The AM-C Warehouse deal provides the company with two facilities in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. The transaction includes an 8.6 million cubic-foot owned facility with 27,000 pallet positions in Mansfield, Texas, as well as a 5.2 million cubic-foot leased facility with 18,000 pallet positions in Grand Prairie.
Americold said it will invest an additional $2.5 million for capital improvements at the two Texas locations. The first-year net operating income yield is 7.4% with the expectation for stabilized yields in the 8% to 10% range by the end of 2023.
“Our acquisition of AM-C Warehouses in Texas grows our capacity in this key region by 30% and expands our relationship with a leading global protein producer,” said Boehler.
Americold reported a 10% year-over-year revenue increase for the second quarter of 2020 in large part due to recent acquisitions, including the $1.25 billion purchase of Cloverleaf Cold Storage and the more than $250 million transaction for Nova Cold Logistics.
The company also reported that it has extended its equity forward contract – six million shares with net proceeds valued at $134 million at the end of the second quarter – from March to September.
