Cold storage giant Lineage Logistics adds $1.9 billion in new funding
Company made 38 acquisitions during 2020, plans additional purchases and automation investments in 2021.
The fast-growing cold storage giant Lineage Logistics LLC is keeping its foot on the accelerator, announcing today that it has raised $1.9 billion in new backing to fund greenfield developments, facility expansions, mergers and acquisitions, and technology innovations designed “to turbocharge end-to-end supply chain efficiency for customers.”
Novi, Michigan-based Lineage said the equity investment followed a similar raise of $1.6 billion in September and now marks the largest funding round since its founding in 2008, bringing the total equity raised since January 2020 to $4.3 billion.
It follows a series of fast moves in recent months to roll up a growing list of facilities and even to buy its own rail operator in January in a maneuver to build a “seamlessly integrated” supply chain solution for its food and beverage customers.
Investors in the latest round include BentallGreenOak, D1 Capital Partners, Oxford Properties, CenterSquare Investment Management, MS Tactical Value and Conversant Capital, OP Trust, and Cohen & Steers, among others. Following the deal, BentallGreenOak's senior managing partner and co-founder, John Carrafiell, will join Lineage's board.
Lineage said the news shows its progress toward a goal of “transforming the food supply chain to eliminate waste and help feed the world.” The company plans to achieve that lofty target by doubling down on new and disruptive technologies to design “the temperature-controlled warehouse of the future” through investments in algorithmic programming and automation software to streamline its operations and optimize every movement within its warehouses.
Already the world’s largest network of temperature-controlled warehouses, Lineage completed 38 acquisitions during 2020, which added 128 facilities in 11 countries, bringing over 5,000 new employees into the organization. It now has more than 340 facilities offering over 2.1 billion cubic feet of capacity and spanning 15 countries across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and South America.
In a blog post, Lineage President and CEO Greg Lehmkuhl cited the company’s runway to a bright future, saying it planned to continue growing fast. “We will also use the new capital to fund greenfield developments and expansion projects in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific to build the most strategically located and most state-of-the-art facility network that will best meet our customers’ needs. We have recently completed – or are working to complete – construction projects in 12 markets in these regions, and we plan to announce even more developments in the near future. Stay tuned!” Lehmkuhl wrote.
Today's equity raise announcement is a recognition of your hard work, selflessness & unshakeable commitment to building a transformative company that we can all be proud of. THANK YOU! #oneLineage #teamwork #coldchain To My Lineage Family: https://t.co/1Nv8vfwQtl via @LinkedIn
— Greg Lehmkuhl (@greg_lehmkuhl) March 11, 2021