Baby, it’s cold inside at Richmond Cold Storage Co., Inc., but that’s the way it’s supposed to be at the company just purchased by Atlanta Equity.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Atlanta Equity, a private equity firm with $109 million in capital under management, tends to focus on lower middle market companies with revenues between $20 million and $200 million.
A team of lawyers from Smith, Gambrell & Russell represented Atlanta Equity. The lead lawyer, partner A. Jay Schwartz, said the deal was able to get financing for several reasons.
“Richmond Cold Storage has good credit and Atlanta Equity … put sufficient equity in the transaction that the lender was willing to lend the difference,” he said. “This was not leveraged like deals done two years ago.”
Other attorneys on the Smith, Gambrell team were partners David Santi, David Burge and Phillip Hoover, all in the Atlanta office, and Laura Andrew, a partner in the firm’s Jacksonville, Fla., office. Associates involved in the transaction were Julie Sebastian, Kathryn Bongiovanni, Emily Cacioppo and Jessica Clay of the firm’s Atlanta office, and associate Laura Andrew of the Jacksonville office.
Richmond Cold Storage, a Richmond, Va.,-based company, operates some 49 million cubic feet of temperature-controlled warehouse space stretching from Virginia to Alabama. The company also offers distribution and logistical services for food processors and distributors.
Richmond Cold Storage was represented by McGuireWoods, with Karl M. Strait, a partner in the firm’s Richmond office, as lead counsel for the company.
Other McGuireWoods attorneys involved in the transaction were partners Bill Fendley, Rob Cipolla, Rob Tyler and Alex Slaughter, as well as associates Brian Sorkin, Cris Rogerson and Heather Stevenson. All are with the firm’s Richmond office.
Cary Street Partners served as exclusive financial advisor to Atlanta Equity.