New York private-equity firm Fenway Partners has acquired a majority interest in Preferred Freezer Services of Newark, N.J., the companies announced today. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Preferred, which operates 23 public refrigerated warehouses nationwide, is a leader in the storage of frozen seafood and is rapidly expanding into other frozen food categories. Preferred is building six new facilities and has five more in planning stages.
John Galiher, Preferred's founder and CEO, and other members of senior management will continue to run the company and will retain an approximate 25 percent ownership stake.
"We are excited to be partnering with the Fenway team and look forward to continuing to grow our business with the benefit of their deep experience across many key sectors in transportation and logistics," says Galiher. "We see terrific potential to strengthen and expand our business in the United States and in markets such as China and Vietnam, where demand for frozen storage is growing rapidly and where we have already begun to establish a presence as part of those countries' critical infrastructure requirements. With the addition of Fenway's resources and expertise, we are uniquely positioned to capitalize on these opportunities and the many others that exist in the public refrigerated warehousing space."
"Preferred Freezer is an excellent addition to Fenway's collection of transportation and logistics businesses and growing portfolio of investments in the temperature-controlled niche," says Marc Kramer, managing director of Fenway Partners and co-head of the firm's Transportation/Logistics practice. "We are pleased to be partnering with a company with such tremendous potential and a proven track record of growth and innovation in engineering and design. We look forward to working with John and his team to further leverage Preferred Freezer's entrepreneurial, customer-oriented culture and strong positioning in domestic and international markets as we bring additional resources to further enhance the company's operating platform."
