Activist Investor Sieve Capital Calls On Americold To Fire Board Chair, Review Alternatives
Another one of Americold’s shareholders is pushing the debt-laden REIT to explore its options, including a sale and a new board chair.
Sieve Capital on Tuesday publicly called on Americold’s board to broaden turnaround efforts from selling assets and pursuing joint ventures to reviewing all strategic alternatives.
The private investor said Americold's plan focuses on “short-sighted transactions” that only keep the board's chairman, Mark Patterson, and his supporters at the helm.
Meanwhile, Americold has been fielding acquisition offers. Cold storage competitors Constellation Cold and CubeCold in December expressed interest in acquiring the European businesses of the company, which carry $1.5B of Americold's overall $3.7B valuation. Both companies reached out to the REIT multiple times over the course of 2025, according to Semafor.
Sieve is pushing for Patterson to be stripped of his title and chances to be reelected. A private letter was shared with the board last week that expressed concerns about shareholders getting 50% less returns during his tenure.
Sieve is also concerned about Patterson’s financial relationship with Paramount Group’s former CEO, Albert Behler, which is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission after Paramount announced it paid millions in undisclosed transactions to Behler’s companies. In September, it was uncovered that Behler invested in a defunct company started by Patterson, who is on Paramount's board.
The activist push follows Americold shareholder Ancora Group urging the cold storage REIT in December to look into alternatives to pay down its debts, like exploring a sale and shedding its global warehouses. Americold agreed.
Americold’s outstanding debt stands at $4.2B, and 95% of that is unsecured, according to its latest earnings report. It has $935.4M in cash and its revolving credit facility.
To support the turnaround strategy, Americold's board brought on SilverBox Managing Partner Joseph Reece and Blue Wolf Capital Partners senior adviser Stephen Sleigh. A finance committee within the board was formed to ensure shareholder value.
Americold CEO Rob Chambers said during a full-year and fourth-quarter earnings call in February that the REIT's new priorities aim to boost profits and strengthen its balance sheet. This includes entering new industrial sectors and pivoting to high-value retail and store support, in addition to selling off noncore assets.
Cold storage as a whole is underperforming. The hundreds of companies that started in the last five to six years to capitalize on the boom in e-commerce grocery options will have a hard time staying afloat in today's environment, as rising inflation is negatively impacting consumers' shopping habits.
The sector’s 7% vacancy rate is a two-decade peak and double that of 2019 levels. This year, deliveries are expected to outpace absorption, even though only 5.9M SF is slated to be completed.
Consumers reducing their spending amid rising prices as well as new speculative deliveries were the primary drivers behind Americold's losses last year, according to the REIT.
Fourth-quarter net losses totaled $88.3M, or 31 cents per diluted share, driven by selling $56M in real estate during the quarter. Its net loss totaled $36.2M in Q4 2024.
