Eimskip Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Iceland-based HF Eimskipafelag Islands, has completed its acquisition of Versacold Income Fund (TSX:ICE.UN) for $525.7 million.
The deal, originally announced in May, creates one of the largest cold storage providers in North America, with more than 55% of the market.
Eimskip said it plans to de-list Versacold's shares from the TSX after it acquires the remaining 7% of Versacold shares it expects to acquire in the next few days.
Eimskip had offered Versacold shareholders $12.25 per unit in cash, representing a 23.5% premium over the volume weighted average unit price for the 90 trading days before May 9, when the fund set up a special committee to deal with the various offers it was receiving.
Versacold had a strong first quarter, with revenue rising 5% to $178.5 million for the period ending March 31, 2007, from revenue of $170 million in the first quarter of 2006. The increase was due mainly to a rise in revenue from its U.S. operations.
Quarterly profits fell, however, to $2.1 million in the first quarter, from $5.6 million in the same quarter in 2006. The drop reflected a change in the company's revenue mix. Nearly a third of the revenue increase from its U.S. operations were from its transportation segment, which has a lower margin than its warehousing business.