Cold warehousing giant Lineage Inc. stands to raise $4.4 billion after it went public today, with its stock trading on the NASDAQ exchange at $78 per share, thus valuing the Novi, Michigan, company at $18 billion.
That initial public offering (IPO) comes a few months after Lineage was ranked just above Americold Logistics as by far the two largest refrigerated warehousing and logistics providers in North America—and in fact in the entire world.
That high ranking has come since venture capital-backed Lineage has been on a hot streak of acquisitions in recent years. Cold storage logistics companies taken over by Lineage since 2022 include Burris Logistics, Turvo, Versacold Logistics, and MTC Logistics.
Lineage said it has specific plans for the funds raised through its stock launch. The company intends to use the net proceeds received from the offering to repay borrowings outstanding under its delayed draw term loan, repay borrowings outstanding under its revolving credit facility, fund one-time cash grants to certain of its employees in connection with this offering and estimated cash to pay tax withholding obligations associated with stock grants and redeem its Series A preferred stock. Following such uses, Lineage expects to use the remaining net proceeds for general corporate purposes, which may include the repayment of additional borrowings outstanding under its revolving credit facility.
“Today marks a historic day for Lineage and our family of employees, partners, and valued customers around the world,” Lineage’s president and CEO, Greg Lehmkuhl, said in an email. “Lineage started as one cold storage warehouse in Seattle in 2008 and has since grown to be the world’s largest global temperature-controlled warehouse REIT. Now, we are capitalizing on a massive market opportunity by transforming the critical infrastructure of the global food supply chain to eliminate waste and help feed the world.”
Looking into the future, the company said its mission is transforming the global food supply chain to eliminate waste and help feed the world, partnering with some of the world’s largest food giants. Lineage believes temperature-controlled warehousing is essential for safeguarding the global food supply chain, and provides perishable food producers, distributors, retailers, and foodservice providers with food-grade storage facilities and supply chain services, promoting food safety and sustainability from farm to table, the company said.
Editor's note: This article was revised on July 26 to correct the amount of money raised in Lineage's IPO.
