Emergent Cold Latin America Expands Network into Mexico with Acquisition of Bajo Cero

Initial investment in key strategic market enables the Company to provide more comprehensive logistics solutions for customers throughout the Latin American region.

SÃO PAULO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Emergent Cold Latin America (Emergent Cold LatAm), the fastest-growing refrigerated storage and logistics service provider in Latin America, announced today the acquisition of Bajo Cero Frigoríficos, an important cold storage company in Mexico. This acquisition represents Emergent Cold LatAm’s entry into Mexico, a key market for the Company’s regional investment strategy. Fernando León Rodriguez, Managing Director of Bajo Cero, will continue to manage the business.

Established in 1999 by J. Fernando León Alatorre, Bajo Cero now operates a network of three modern facilities located in the cities of Irapuato, Villagran, and León, with a total capacity of more than 37,000 pallet positions, blast freezers, and land for future expansions. These facilities serve an important agricultural area of Mexico, allowing Bajo Cero to consolidate cargo for regional processing plants and packers for important brands in North America and Mexico.

Mexico is the second largest economy and second most populous country in Latin America, with connectivity to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans via important port locations. Further, Mexico is an important partner to the United States due to its geographic location, free trade agreements, and central role in the global food trade.

With the addition of Bajo Cero, Emergent LatAm now operates 23 cold storage facilities, with another four facilities under construction, across a total of ten countries.

"We are proud to add Bajo Cero to our regional network, a company known throughout the cold chain market for its excellent customer service,” said David Palfenier, President of Emergent Cold LatAm. “This transaction is a bold first step for us in this important market.”

“Mexico is a central part of our Latin America investment strategy due to its size, scale, and attractive export and food consumption trends,” said Neal Rider, CEO of Emergent Cold LatAm. “We see a unique opportunity to build the most modern and fully integrated refrigerated logistics network third party in Mexico. We are excited to welcome the Bajo Cero team into our growing network, and we look forward to supporting capacity expansion at several warehouses in key locations.”

“This business combination gives our customers access to a broad network of facilities, as well as new technology, investment capital and cold chain best practices,” said Fernando León Alatorre, President of Bajo Cero. “It is an honor to collaborate with the Emergent Cold LatAm team with the goal of delivering the highest quality service offerings in the marketplace, so many good things to come.”

44 Capital Finanças Corporativas acted as financial advisor and Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez 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 their 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 23 cold storage facilities, more than 500 trucks, and four facilities now under construction to complete a total of 10 countries across Latin America.