Blackstone Closes Sale of Cloverleaf Cold Storage to Americold Realty Trust

New York, May 1, 2019 – Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced that private equity funds managed by Blackstone have completed the sale of  Cloverleaf Cold Storage (“Cloverleaf”) to Americold Realty Trust (NYSE: COLD) (“Americold”), the world’s largest publicly traded REIT focused on the ownership, operation and development of temperature-controlled warehouses. 

Cloverleaf, which was founded in 1952 and is based in Sioux City, Iowa, is the fifth largest cold storage provider in the United States with 132 million refrigerated cubic feet, serving over 360 customers.

“Our families are proud of Cloverleaf’s evolution and the development of our industry over the past 67 years,” Bill Feiges and Daniel Kaplan, senior management of Cloverleaf, said in a written statement.  “We are grateful for the dedication of Cloverleaf’s talented management team and employees, and deeply appreciative for the opportunity to serve so many wonderful customers through multiple generations.  Our people and facilities, blended with Americold’s capabilities and warehouse network, will strengthen customer relationships in the years ahead.  We also want to thank Blackstone for being a trusted partner who added value to the company with their unique insights, financial expertise and operational capabilities.”  Mark Rumsey added “I’d similarly like to thank Zero Mountain’s leadership, employees and customers.  We’re excited to have joined forces with Cloverleaf, and look forward to the next chapter in the company’s history.”

Seth Meisel, a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, added, “We are proud to have partnered with the Kaplan, Feiges and Rumsey families and Medley Management on this investment, and look forward to seeing the combined companies’ continued growth into the future.”

In addition to private equity funds managed by Blackstone, other existing investors in Cloverleaf include the Kaplan and Feiges families, the Rumsey family and Medley Management.

Wells Fargo Securities and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. are acting as exclusive financial advisors to Cloverleaf and Blackstone. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is acting as legal advisor to Cloverleaf and Blackstone.

About Blackstone

Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our asset management businesses, with $512 billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.

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Paula Chirhart
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