Emergent Cold LatAm acquires Galores Group
Emergent Cold Latin America, the region’s newest temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics provider, recently acquired Panama-based Galores Group.
This is Emergent LatAm’s second acquisition and first investment in the Central America region, and it “immediately establishes” Emergent LatAm as a market leader in the region, according to the company.
Founded in 2011, Galores is the largest 3PL cold storage facility in Central America and the Caribbean. Based in Panama City near two of the region’s highest-volume ports, Galores operates a best-in-class logistics complex with a warehouse capacity of 21,000 pallets, with additional land available for expansion.
The business offers a wide range of value-added services, including bonded storage, blast freezing, cross-docking, and order picking. In addition, Galores owns a fleet of transportation assets to handle both port drayage and last mile distribution for its customers.
“We are thrilled to welcome Galores Group to our growing Latin American network,” said Neal Rider, CEO of Emergent LatAm. “Panama is an important strategic location for the global food trade, which makes it key to our regional investment strategy. Galores is the ideal anchor asset to grow our Central America operations.
“In addition, our relationship with Lineage Logistics allows us to broaden the network connectivity between our companies and create additional supply chain efficiencies for our customers.”
Emergent LatAm recently announced the completion of a $450 million capital raise, led by Lineage Logistics, Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, and D1 Capital Partners. The company is investing in existing leading cold storage operators and new greenfield projects throughout Latin America to expand its footprint of modern cold storage facilities and consistently bring the highest quality service to customers across the entire region.
Emergent LatAm was founded by Rider and David Palfenier, industry veterans with a track record of successfully executing consolidation strategies across the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Rider has more than 17 years of experience in the temperature-controlled logistics industry, notably as the founder and CEO of both AGRO Merchants Group and Emergent Cold. Palfenier brings decades of experience within the food industry—most recently as the president of Emergent Cold’s Latin America division—and serves as the company’s president.
“We are thrilled to announce the launch of Emergent Cold Latin America and provide customers in the region with significant technological and modernization opportunities within their cold chains to match those that are leading the industry in the U.S. and Europe,” Rider said. “We’re working toward transforming the temperature-controlled supply chain in Latin America and becoming a one-stop-shop solution for customers to support their growth journeys.”
