Acquisition will expand the Company’s presence in Uruguay and add Paraguay to growing regional network
SÃO PAULO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Emergent Cold Latin America (Emergent Cold LatAm or the Company), the fastest-growing refrigerated storage and logistics service provider in Latin America, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the cold storage operations of Frigorifico Modelo (Frimosa), a leading agro-industrial and logistics company based in Montevideo, Uruguay. This transaction is subject to customary closing conditions – including approval at an Extraordinary General Meeting of Frimosa’s shareholders – and it is expected to close in December 2022.
As part of the proposed transaction, Emergent Cold LatAm will acquire Frimosa’s main facility in Polo Oeste, consisting of a warehouse with 22,000 pallets of cold storage, a separate bonded warehouse and substantial land for expansion. Additionally, Emergent Cold LatAm will acquire a newly-constructed 8,400 pallet warehouse located in Asunción, Paraguay.
Uruguay is recognized as an important logistics and financial hub in South America. The country has a modern infrastructure system with significant connectivity and is considered as the gateway to Mercosur through its main ports. Paraguay also plays an important role in the world food trade and has shown important signs of economic growth in the last few years.
The acquisition of Frimosa’s cold storage operations will expand Emergent Cold LatAm’s existing capabilities in Uruguay. In May 2022, the Company completed the acquisition of Montevideo-based Polo Logístico de Frio. This investment included plans to expand PLF’s facility to double its current size, creating operational improvements and enhanced service offerings.
“We believe that the addition of Paraguay and the expansion of our footprint in Uruguay will strengthen our portfolio of services in the region, which includes warehousing and transportation”, said Neal Rider, CEO of Emergent Cold LatAm. “Some of our important customers in Brazil also operate in Paraguay and Uruguay”, added Rider.
“We are proud to welcome Frimosa´s employees into the Emergent Cold family”, said Evandro Calanca, Managing Director of Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. “Such an impressive company and founders, it is no surprise they have built an outstanding business and such strong customer relationships. We are honored to be entrusted to build further on this legacy of excellence”, added Calanca.
44 Capital Finanças Corporativas acted as financial advisor and Ferrere Abogados acted as legal advisor to Emergent Cold LatAm.
About Emergent Cold LatAm:
Emergent Cold Latin America (www.emergentcoldlatam.com) is building the highest-quality cold chain network to provide end-to-end temperature-controlled logistics solutions to its customers across Latin America. The company was founded to cover the need for modern cold chain solutions in the market and to meet the increasing demand from domestic and global customers. Emergent Cold LatAm currently operates 24 cold storage facilities, more than 500 trucks, and four facilities now under construction to complete a total of 11 countries across Latin America.
Contacts
Emergent Cold LatAm
Rafael Rocha – rafael.rocha@emergentcold.com – +507 6747-8153
Commercial Vice President