AGRO Merchants Group Expands in the Iberian Region
AGRO Merchants Group, a global leader in cold storage and logistics solutions, has announced the acquisition of Cold Land SGPS SA from funds affiliated with Inter-Risco, a premier Portuguese private equity firm, and Portugal Ventures, a venture capital and private equity firm. Cold Land is the parent company of Frissul and Frigomato, which together offer 303,200 cubic meters of storage capacity or the equivalent of 55,700 pallet positions, making it the leading cold storage operator in Portugal and a key player in the Iberian Peninsula. This latest acquisition for AGRO expands its footprint in a key strategic region and significantly broadens its capabilities and service offerings throughout the food supply chain. The current management team, led by CEO Afonso Almeida, will continue to lead the business in Portugal.
The company’s largest cold store is located in Carregado Industrial Estate in the Lisbon district. Two additional facilities are based in Aveleda and Aguda, both in the Porto area. The business is well-known for its high levels of quality, innovation and extensive expertise in value-added services, plus technology systems that enhances productivity throughout the distribution process. Product expertise includes frozen/deep-frozen such as ice cream, bread, pastries, produce and protein, as well as refrigerated products like dairy and cold meats. The company has developed a deep roster of customers across the food chain including producers, retailers, distributors and traders. Group certifications include ISO 9001, SMETA and IFS Logistics.
Strategic Goal
This latest acquisition by AGRO furthers its strategic goal to become the leading cold storage and logistics service partner serving the Iberian Peninsula. In March 2016, AGRO acquired Barcelona-based APC, a cold storage leader in Spain with two facilities totalling 55,000 pallet positions. Also in 2016, AGRO completed a state-of-the-art expansion of its Algeciras warehouse, which increased that facility’s capacity to 15,600 pallet spaces.
“Frissul and Frigomato are valuable additions to our global cold storage network given the quality infrastructure, customer base and focus, management team and high standards of service,” says Carlos Rodriguez, CEO of AGRO Merchants Group. “The Iberian Peninsula is also one of several key clusters for our group, with current operations in Algeciras and the Barcelona area and plans to expand further in the region. The addition of Frissul and Frigomato extends our geographical coverage and enhances our capability to offer full transportation and distribution solutions to existing and new customers.”
Afonso Almeida, Cold-Land CEO, comments: “I was invited by Inter-Risco to join Cold Land’s team just after they acquired Frissul. I found a fantastic company with amazing people and I always was supported by our shareholders and their teams. We are extremely proud of the work that we jointly developed over the last years and we believe that this work was recognized by the interest of AGRO Merchants Group in integrating Cold Land on its cold storage network. We believe that with this acquisition, Cold Land will continue to affirm its relevant role in the market and increase its capabilities, in a more and more logistically integrated world.”
About AGRO Merchants Group
AGRO Merchants Group owns and operates 60 facilities in 10 countries – Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, UK, Ireland, Austria, the U.S., Brazil, Chile and Australia. AGRO is focused on providing innovative cold chain solutions on a global basis by partnering with the highest quality family businesses and creating new, reliable, and integrated trade networks to help its customers grow. AGRO invests in modern assets, industry-leading technologies, and value-added service offerings to ensure the highest quality supply chain management standards in the industry.
For additional information, please visit AGRO’s website at www.agromerchants.com.
