Novi-based Lineage Logistics, the world’s largest temperature controlled industrial real estate investment trust and logistics provider, announced today that it has raised $1.9 billion in equity from new and existing investors.
The funds will go toward expansion of its global network and new technology.
Participating investors in the company’s largest equity raise include BentallGreenOak, D1 Capital Partners, Oxford Properties, CenterSquare Investment Management, MS Tactical Value and Conversant Capital, OP Trust, Cohen & Steers, among others.
“We set out to raise capital to support Lineage’s investments in the world’s most state-of-the-art technology and automation, greenfield developments, facility expansions, and continued acquisitions, and we were met with overwhelming demand from some of the most well-respected global institutional investors,” says Greg Lehmkuhl, president and CEO of Lineage.
“This is clear validation of our business model and our consistent, successful strategy to optimize our customers’ temperature-controlled supply chains, which is exactly how we intend to deploy the funds — to bolster our customers’ experiences from every angle and prove ourselves as their most valuable partner.”
Lineage also transformed its capital structure with a new $2.8 billion Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan A. The new facility aligns closely with traditional REIT financings, has investment-grade pricing, and becomes unsecured upon compliance with investment-grade covenants.
Additionally, the new facility enables Lineage’s growth worldwide by offering multicurrency lending across Lineage’s numerous jurisdictions. This transaction represents Lineage’s first sustainability-linked loan with three Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives.
A significant portion of the $1.9 billion, according to Lineage, will be used on new technologies to design the temperature-controlled warehouse of the future. Tapping its team of data scientists and technologists, the company is developing widespread algorithmic programming and automation software to streamline its operations and optimize every movement within its warehouses.
Additionally, the new equity will be deployed, in part, to fund greenfield development and facility expansion projects in its North American, European, and Asian-Pacific operating regions. Lineage recently has completed or has pending construction in the following markets:
- Charleston, S.C.
- Logan Township, N.J.
- New Orleans, La.
- Portsmouth, Va.
- Sioux Falls, S.D.
- Stevens Point, Wisc.
- Aarhus, Denmark
- Gdansk, Poland
- Hanoi, Vietnam
- Heywood, U.K.
- Peterborough, U.K.
- Tauranga, New Zealand
“I am proud to say that the company we have been building has made an incredible and transformative impact on our customers, our team members, our communities, and the broader temperature-controlled industry,” says Adam Forste, co-executive chairman of Lineage and co-founder and senior managing partner at Bay Grove, which founded and manages Lineage. “This additional equity — from some of the best regarded names in the investment world — positions Lineage for continued and meaningful growth.”
In connection with the equity raise, the company also announced a new that John Carrafiell, co-founder and senior managing partner of BentallGreenOak, would join the Lineage board of directors.
In addition to its planned greenfield projects, Lineage recently added to its network Dick Cold Storage of Columbus, Ohio; Great Lakes Cold Storage in Ohio and Pennsylvania; Win Chill Cold Storage in South Dakota; Joliet Cold Storage in Illinois; and a new warehouse in Virginia.
Lineage manages the largest global network of temperature-controlled warehouses, with more than 340 strategically located facilities offering more than 2.1 billion cubic feet of capacity and spanning 15 countries across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and South America.
During 2020, Lineage completed 38 acquisitions, which added 128 facilities in 11 countries, bringing more than 5,000 new employees into the organization. Lineage became the first temperature-controlled warehousing provider to offer refrigerated and insulated railcar solutions through last year’s acquisition of Cryo-Trans.
