XML 20 R8.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.21.2
General
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
General General
The Company
Americold Realty Trust, together with all of its consolidated subsidiaries (ART, Americold, the Company, us or we), is a real estate investment trust (REIT) organized under Maryland law. The Company is the world’s largest publicly traded REIT focused on the ownership, operation and development of temperature-controlled warehouses. The Company is organized as a self-administered and self-managed REIT with proven operating, acquisition and development experience. As of September 30, 2021, we operated a global network of 248 temperature-controlled warehouses encompassing over 1.5 billion cubic feet, with 202 warehouses in North America, 27 in Europe, 16 warehouses in Asia-Pacific, and three warehouses in South America. In addition, we hold two minority interests in Brazilian-based joint ventures, one with SuperFrio, which owns or operates 33 temperature-controlled warehouses and one with Comfrio, which owns or operates 25 temperature-controlled warehouses.
During 2010, the Company formed a Delaware limited partnership, Americold Realty Operating Partnership, L.P. (the Operating Partnership), and transferred substantially all of its interests in entities and associated assets and liabilities to the Operating Partnership. This structure is commonly referred to as an umbrella partnership REIT or an UPREIT structure. The REIT is the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership, owning approximately 99% of the partnership interests as of September 30, 2021. Americold Realty Operations, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the REIT, is a limited partner of the Operating Partnership, owning less than 1% of the partnership interests as of September 30, 2021. Additionally, the aggregate partnership interests of all other limited partners was less than 1% as of September 30, 2021. As the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership, the REIT has full, exclusive and complete responsibility and discretion in the day-to-day management and control of the Operating Partnership. The limited partners of the Operating Partnership do not have rights to replace Americold Realty Trust as the general partner nor do they have participating rights, although they do have certain protective rights.
The Company grants Operating Partnership Profit Units (OP Units) to certain members of the Board of Trustees and certain members of management of the Company, which are described further in Note 11. Upon vesting these units represent interests in the Operating Partnership that are not owned by Americold Realty Trust.
On March 22, 2021, the Company filed Articles of Amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation of Maryland to increase the number of authorized common shares of beneficial interest, $0.01 par value per share, from 325,000,000 to 500,000,000. The Articles of Amendment were effective upon filing. The Company also has 25,000,000 authorized preferred shares of beneficial interest, $0.01 par value per share; however, none are issued or outstanding as of September 30, 2021 or December 31, 2020.
The Operating Partnership includes numerous disregarded entities (“DRE”). Additionally, the Operating Partnership conducts various business activities in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and South America through several wholly-owned taxable REIT subsidiaries (TRSs).
Recent Capital Markets Activity
Other Equity Forwards and Activity
During the three months ended September 30, 2021, the Company settled 4,785,000 forward shares outstanding that were originally entered into in connection with its October 2020 underwritten equity offering for net proceeds of $171.3 million. Additionally, during the three months ended June 30, 2021, the Company settled its forward sale agreement of 6,000,000 shares for net proceeds of $128.5 million, originally issued in connection with its September 2018 underwritten equity offering.

At the Market (ATM) Equity Program
On May 10, 2021, the Company entered into an equity distribution agreement pursuant to which we may sell, from time to time, up to an aggregate sales price of $900.0 million of our common shares through an ATM Equity Program (the “2021 ATM Equity Program”). Sales of the Company’s common shares made pursuant to the 2021 ATM Equity Program may be made in negotiated transactions or transactions that are deemed to be “at the market” offerings as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act, including sales made directly on the NYSE, or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange, or as otherwise agreed between the applicable Agent and us. Sales may also be made on a forward basis pursuant to separate forward sale agreements. The intended use of the net proceeds from sales of the Company’s common shares pursuant to the 2021 ATM Equity Program for general corporate purposes, which may include funding acquisitions and development projects. During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, there were 2,332,846 common shares sold under the 2021 ATM Equity Program under forward sale agreements for gross proceeds of $90.6 million. On September 28, 2021, the Company settled 896,369 of these shares for gross proceeds of $34.6 million. Pursuant to the respective forward sale agreements, the remaining 1,436,477 of shares must be settled by July 1, 2022 for gross proceeds of $56.0 million under the 2021 ATM Equity Program.
On April 16, 2020, the Company entered into an equity distribution agreement pursuant to which the Company may sell, from time to time, up to an aggregate sales price of $500.0 million of our common shares through an ATM Equity Program (“the 2020 ATM Equity Program”). Sales of the Company’s common shares made pursuant to the 2020 ATM Equity Program may be made in negotiated transactions or transactions that are deemed to be “at the market” offerings as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act, including sales made directly on the NYSE, or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange, or as otherwise agreed between the applicable Agent and us. Sales may also be made on a forward basis pursuant to separate forward sale agreements. The intended use of the net proceeds from sales of the Company’s common shares pursuant to the 2020 ATM Equity Program for general corporate purposes, which may include funding acquisitions and development projects.
At December 31, 2020, there were 2,429,104 shares sold under the 2020 ATM Equity Program that were subject to forward sale agreements. These shares were settled for gross proceeds of $86.6 million during the three month period ended June 30, 2021. As of September 30, 2021, there were no forward shares outstanding under the 2020 ATM Equity Program.
Universal Shelf Registration Statement
In connection with filing the ATM Equity Offering Sales Agreement on April 16, 2020, the Company and the Operating Partnership filed with the SEC an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration Nos.
333-237704 and 333-237704-01) (the “Registration Statement”), registering an indeterminate amount of (i) the Company’s common shares of beneficial interest, $0.01 par value per share, (ii) the Company’s preferred shares of beneficial interest, $0.01 par value per share, (iii) depositary shares representing entitlement to all rights and preferences of fractions of the Company’s preferred shares of a specified series and represented by depositary receipts, (iv) warrants to purchase the Company’s common shares or preferred shares or depositary shares and (v) debt securities of the Operating Partnership, which will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by the Company.
Acquisitions
On September 1, 2021, the Company acquired Newark Facility Management for $391.4 million. The acquisition was funded using cash drawn on our 2020 Senior Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility.
On August 2, 2021, the Company acquired the assets of the ColdCo Companies for $20.7 million. The acquisition was funded using cash drawn on our 2020 Senior Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility.
On May 28, 2021, the Company acquired Bowman Stores for £75.5 million, or $107.1 million USD, based on the spot rate on the date of the transaction. The acquisition was funded using cash drawn on our 2020 Senior Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility.
On June 1, 2021, the Company purchased the remaining minority shareholders portion of Frigorifico, a joint venture acquired in tandem with the Agro acquisition, for $16.0 million.
On May 5, 2021, the Company acquired KMT Brrr! for $70.8 million. The acquisition was funded using cash drawn on our 2020 Senior Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility.
On March 1, 2021, the Company acquired Liberty Freezers for Canadian Dollars of C$55.0 million, or $43.5 million USD, based on the spot rate on the date of the transaction. The acquisition was funded using cash drawn on our 2020 Senior Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility.
Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation
The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (GAAP) for interim financial information, and with the rules and regulations of the SEC. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements do not include all disclosures associated with the Company’s consolidated annual financial statements included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and, accordingly, should be read in conjunction with the referenced annual report. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (all of which are normal and recurring in nature) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries where the Company exerts control. Investments in which the Company does not have control, and is not considered to be the primary beneficiary of a Variable Interest Entity (VIE), but where the Company exercises significant influence over the operating and financial policies of the investee, are accounted for using the equity method of accounting. Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. Operating results for the interim periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of (1) assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets
and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements, and (2) revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Significant Risks and Uncertainties
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused, and is likely to continue to cause severe economic, market and other disruptions worldwide, which could lead to material impairments of our assets, increases in our allowance for credit losses and changes in judgments in determining the fair value of our assets. Conditions in the bank lending, capital and other financial markets may deteriorate, and our access to capital and other sources of funding may become constrained or more costly, which could materially and adversely affect the availability and terms of future borrowings, renewals, re-financings and other capital raises.
The Company is closely monitoring the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and any variants on all aspects of its business in all geographies, including how it will impact its customers and business partners. While the Company did not incur significant disruptions during 2020 from the COVID-19 pandemic, the nine-months ended September 30, 2021 were negatively impacted by COVID-19 related disruptions in (i) the food supply chain; (ii) our customers’ production of goods; (iii) the labor market impacting availability and cost; and (iv) the overall impact of inflation on the cost to provide our services. We expect that end-consumer demand for food will remain consistent over the long-term with historic levels overall but varying between retail and food service sectors. The consistent end consumer demand has driven down holdings in our facilities as it remains steady and production has remained challenged since the onset of the pandemic. We expect it will continue to do so until our customers are able to ramp production back up to pre-pandemic levels for an extended period of time in order to rebuild inventory in the supply chain. However, uncertainty still surrounds the impact of the pandemic and recovery ultimately depends on many factors. COVID-19 disruptions in certain markets where we or our customers operate continue to impact the food supply chain and our business. As a result, occupancy and throughput volume continue at lower than historical levels experienced prior to COVID-19. As the Company continues to protect its employees from the spread of COVID-19, it is incurring elevated labor related costs and incremental health and safety supplies costs relative to its pre-pandemic experience. We continue to expect to see inflationary impacts in the cost of providing our services, but anticipate that these will be partially mitigated through price increases that have either taken effect or are expected to take effect during the remainder of the year. The Company is unable to predict the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on its financial condition, results of operations and cash flows due to numerous uncertainties.
The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with any degree of confidence, including the scope, severity, duration and geographies of the outbreak, the actions taken to contain the COVID-19 pandemic or mitigate its impact as requested or mandated by governmental authorities or otherwise voluntarily taken by individuals or businesses, the direct and indirect economic effects of the illness and containment measures, and supply chain disruption, among others. As a result, we cannot at this time predict the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and prospects.