Cold storage operator Americold announced that it has entered into a cooperation agreement with activist investor Ancora Group Holdings. The deal adds two members to the board of directors and establishes a new finance committee to oversee existing shareholder value creation initiatives.
Strategic investors Joseph Reece, managing partner at SilverBox Capital, and Stephen Sleigh, senior advisor at Blue Wolf Capital Partners, were named to the board Monday and will serve on the finance committee. Reece has also been added to the investment committee while Sleigh will be part of the audit committee.
The Finance Committee will review the company’s portfolio and make recommendations for potential sales or divestitures. He will also focus on ways to reduce Americold’s debt and maintain its dividend.
The size of the board has been increased to include 11 directors, but will be reduced by one seat at the 2026 annual meeting.
“Joe and Steve bring significant governance experience as well as expertise in corporate finance, capital markets transactions, labor relations and shareholder engagement,” Americold Chairman Mark Patterson said in a press release. “We look forward to benefiting from their experience as Americold advances its initiatives to improve profitability and drive long-term sustainable value creation.” »
Shares of Americold (NASDAQ: COLD) have fallen more than 40% this year. The company posted net losses totaling $26 million in the first three quarters of the year after posting net losses of $94 million and $336 million in 2024 and 2023, respectively. Excluding non-cash charges and other items, adjusted funds from operations were $420 million and $352 million, respectively, in the prior year periods. (AFFO is worth $300 million in 2025 so far.)
The company’s net debt burden of $4.1 billion remains high relative to operating results. The trailing 12-month net debt-to-basic EBITDA ratio was 6.7 times at the end of the third quarter.
The climate-controlled real estate market is suffering from the impacts of food cost inflation and a post-pandemic oversupply.
Cold storage competitor Lineage (NASDAQ: LINE) said on an investor call earlier this month that the market is overbuilt by nearly 10% given recent warehouse additions. He said new deliveries would increase 4% this year but slow to 1.5% next year, allowing occupancy rates to eventually rebound.
Americold also announced that it had amended a credit agreement, providing it with a new unsecured line of $250 million. The funds will be used to repay approximately $200 million in notes that expire next month, with the remainder for general corporate purposes.
