Lineage broadens North American network

April 20, 2022

Acquisition of VersaCold Logistics from TorQuest bolsters the cold chain solutions provider’s Canadian presence and enables cross-border solutions.

Commercial Vehicle Staff

Lineage Logistics recently agreed to acquire VersaCold Logistics Services, a cold chain solution provider in Canada, from TorQuest Partners and its co-investment partners, The Investment Management Corporation of Ontario and OPTrust.

Financial terms of the transaction, expected to close in the third quarter, were not disclosed.

“Our acquisition of VersaCold represents yet another milestone and an important broadening of our business in Canada,” said Greg Lehmkuhl, president and CEO of Lineage. “In its 80-plus-year history, VersaCold has built a stellar reputation by providing customers with differentiated and fully integrated warehousing and transportation solutions across Canada. We are excited to bring them into the One Lineage family and work alongside the VersaCold leadership team to better serve customers across North America. We also look forward to supporting capacity expansion plans at a number of warehouses across key Canadian markets.”

Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Vaughan, Ontario, VersaCold runs 24 temperature-controlled facilities comprising 114 million cubic feet of storage and 361,000 pallet positions. Its network spans nine provinces and contains properties in Canada’s most populous metropolitan markets, including Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Montreal. VersaCold also offers an integrated, asset-based inbound and outbound temperature-controlled transportation solution that operates out of nine terminals across the country and provides coast-to-coast service capabilities.

“We look forward to embarking on this journey with Lineage Logistics,” said Mike Arcamone, president and CEO of VersaCold. “Lineage has emerged as a world leader in creating innovative solutions to help reduce waste across the temperature-controlled supply chain. Combining our seasoned team and our complementary facility network with Lineage will create an even more dynamic company capable of supporting the growing needs of our customers in Canada and around the globe.”

Added Jonathan Fraser, Partner at TorQuest: “TorQuest has enjoyed our partnership with Mike and the VersaCold team, and the opportunity to provide capital to invest in and reposition its facility network for the future.

“VersaCold has thrived under our ownership, and we are very pleased to have Lineage step in to drive the next chapter for the business. We are also excited to be investing in Lineage as part of this transaction and for our investors to participate in future value creation.”