The owners of PAGO Sp. z o.o., the largest logistics service provider operating in the frozen food sector in Poland, concluded a share purchase agreement under which PAGO will become a part of Lineage Logistics Holdings, LLC. („Lineage”), the world’s largest and most innovative temperature-controlled industrial REIT and logistics solutions provider.
PAGO's customer portfolio consists of more than 300 domestic and foreign companies, including leading manufacturers of frozen food as well as local family businesses. Six modern cold store and distribution plants provide 86.500 m2 of total building space and 190.000 pallet positions in the storage chambers. As part its services, PAGO regularly reaches more than 5.000 delivery points throughout the country, including central warehouses of retail chains, wholesalers and other distributors. The company employs nearly 400 team members.
With the acquisition of PAGO, Lineage, which is headquartered in Novi, Michigan, enters the Polish market for the first time and strengthens its growing position in Europe. „Europe is a key market for our customers and a region where we see significant opportunities for further development of our network and implementation of our innovative solutions," said Mike McClendon, President of International Operations & EVP of Network Optimization of Lineage. „We are excited to enter Poland by aquiring PAGO, known for its enterpreneurial culture with roots as a family business – just like so many of the organizations we’ve embraced as part of our Lineage family,” adds McClendon.
Lineage, which is managed by Bay Grove Capital („Bay Grove”) a San Francisco-based investment company with extensive experience in the warehouse and logistics industry. The company features a global footprint that spans more than 1.9 billion cubic feet of temperature-controlled capacity across 330 facilities in 15 countries spanning North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and South America.
„The acquisition PAGO is another step in the implementation of our global growth strategy," says Adam Forste, Co-Executive Chairman of Lineage and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Bay Grove. „We are pleased to partner with the founders of PAGO, whose vision has been based on an ethos of reliability, quality and commitment to the customer while growing the business to become the largest and most modern cold storage company in Poland. They will continue with the business and help Lineage drive further growth in this important region.," adds Forste.
PAGO, in its integration with Lineage, sees new opportunities. „We will gain access to more capital, which heralds further development of our network, which will go hand in hand with the global growth of Lineage. Access to Lineage's technology platform and innovative tools will result in greater efficiency of our operations and thus generate added value within our customers' supply chain,” said Patryk Gościniak, Vice Chairman of PAGO. „At this point, we would like to thank all those who, together with us, have contributed to PAGO over the last 15 years: our employees, suppliers, our current business partner, Tönnies Holdings, and our customers, who have been a source of inspiration for us and who have confirmed the fact that we made the right business decisions. Joining a global leader with whom we have found a common language and shared common values is a great honor and recognition for our work together. We look to the future with undisguised optimism, ready to continue hard work to develop the largest global logistics network together,” Gościniak concludes.
Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Rabobank acted as financial advisor to Lineage. Latham & Watkins acted as legal advisor to Lineage. PwC acted as advisor to PAGO and Tönnies.
About Lineage Logistics
Lineage is the world’s most innovative provider of temperature-controlled logistics solutions. Lineage’s expertise in end-to-end logistical solutions, its unrivaled real estate network, and its use of technology combine to promote food safety, increase distribution efficiency, advance sustainability, lessen environmental impact, and minimize supply chain waste. As a result, Lineage helps customers ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small family-owned businesses increase the efficiency and protect the integrity of their temperature-controlled supply chain. Lineage has grown its cubic feet by 60% annually since 2008 to 1.9 billion cubic feet, making it the largest global temperature-controlled industrial REIT. In recognition of the company’s leading innovations, Lineage was recognized as the No 1. Data Science company on Fast Company’s Annual list of The World’s Most Innovative Companies in 2019, in addition to ranking 23rd overall in an evaluation of thousands of companies worldwide. (www.lineagelogistics.com)
About PAGO
PAGO is the most recognizable provider of frozen food logistics in Poland. It successfully carries out projects combining warehouse and distribution logistics, meeting the needs of the most demanding customers, including the largest Polish manufacturers of frozen food, international concerns and retail chains who expect the highest standards of service, ethics and safety. PAGO runs a network of modern frozen food logistics centers, developed in accordance with top construction and equipment standards, and its total storage capacity exceeds 190 000 pallet positions. One of its facilities is located in the Baltic Sea Port of Gdańsk, directly in the Deepwater Container Terminal, making PAGO an important link in the supply chain in terms of global frozen food trade. (www.pago.net.pl)
About Bay Grove
Bay Grove is a principal investment firm dedicated to partnering with strong management teams to invest in and build long-term platform investments. Since 2008, Bay Grove has built Lineage Logistics through acquisitions and investments completed in partnership with entrepreneurs, customers and employees. The firm has deep experience in the warehousing and logistics industry and also seeks to make investments in other attractive sectors. Bay Grove is based in San Francisco. (www.bay-grove.com)
