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ATLANTA—Americold Realty Trust has struck a deal to buy the Canada-based Nova Cold Logistics for approximately $254 million from Brookfield Business Partners. The Nova Cold portfolio consists of three locations in Toronto, Calgary, and Halifax with additional acreage for future expansions. Americold already has a presence in the country through its third-party management business and its current customer base has significant overlap with Nova Cold's. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020.

Separately, REIT has acquired two cold storage facilities owned by MHW Group for $54 million. One is in Perryville, MD and another in Chambersburg, PA, and the deal included the underlying land.

Uptick in Sales

Cold storage sales have been on an uptrend in recent years punctuated by discrete large transactions, according to a recent research note on the market by Cushman & Wakefield. Despite the increase in volume, C&W says the market remains limited in scope as the majority of inventory is occupier-owned. A relatively new player in the space has been the emergence of third-party logistics firms, which are now driving consolidation in the cold storage space. "Consolidation is reflected in the sustained levels of portfolio and M&A sales, though single asset sales continue to make up a majority of transaction volume," C&W noted.