Cold storage warehouse investment is booming as demand for e-commerce and online grocery delivery grows.
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As grocery chains seek to keep pace with Amazon Fresh and other online-to-door food delivery services by establishing a distribution network to transport perishables, cold storage units are paramount.
Since the global financial crisis, temperature-controlled warehouse units have benefited from cap rate compression as warehouse values have skyrocketed, CoStar reports. Currently, market caps in the booming segment range between 7.5% and 8.25%, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
Blackstone Group may emerge as an early adopter of this trend after announcing Tuesday that private equity funds affiliated with the company had entered into an agreement with Cloverleaf Cold Storage. Cloverleaf plans to restructure the company's debt, while Blackstone's affiliates will make a majority equity investment in Cloverleaf, funded by Goldman Sachs, CoStar reports.
This is Blackstone's second attempt to enter the temperature-controlled warehouse sector. It had attempted a buyout of Americold Corp., the largest cold storage warehouse owner and operator in the world, in September. Americold declined the $3B bid but has recently filed an initial public offering in order to form a new REIT, which will be called Americold Realty Trust.
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