Cold storage REIT Lineage aims up to $19.2 billion valuation in blockbuster US IPO

By Arasu Kannagi Basil

(Reuters) -Cold storage real estate investment trust Lineage said on Tuesday it was targeting a valuation of up to $19.16 billion in its U.S. initial public offering, in what would be this year's biggest listing.

The REIT, backed by private equity firm Bay Grove Capital, is aiming to raise up to $3.85 billion by offering 47 million shares at a price range of $70 and $82 each.

The proposed share sale could potentially surpass cruise operator Viking Holdings' $1.54 billion offering, according to LSEG data.

Lineage's story began in late-2008 with the acquisition of a cold storage warehouse, Seafreeze, in Seattle. Since then, it has grown to be the world's largest temperature-controlled warehouse operator with 116 acquisitions globally.

Novi, Michigan-based Lineage, whose closest rival is Americold Realty Trust, has 482 warehouses spanning 3 billion cubic feet of capacity across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Lineage works with food and beverage companies for the storage, handling and movement of frozen and perishable food around the world.

The cold storage industry is grappling with lower warehouse throughput volumes as higher food costs have resulted in consumers buying less while spending the same or more.

Lineage has raised equity capital worth more than $9 billion since inception from institutional investors such as real estate investment firm BentallGreenOak, private equity firm Stonepeak, Dan Sundheim's hedge fund D1 Capital and Canadian real estate investor Oxford Properties, according to its IPO prospectus.

Norwegian wealth fund Norges Bank Investment Management has indicated an interest in purchasing up to $900 million worth of shares sold in the offering.

REITs typically offer a better hedge against inflation and market volatility during times of economic turmoil.

But the sector has underperformed the broader equity markets over the past two years, pressured by rising interest rates.

Analysts expect REIT valuations to be one of the prime beneficiaries when the U.S. Federal Reserve starts cutting rates.

Lineage will list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "LINE".

The IPO proceeds will be used to pay down debt. Bay Grove will continue to own a majority of the voting power in Lineage after the offering.

The IPO is being underwritten by a group of more than 20 Wall Street banks, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities, J.P. Morgan Securities and Wells Fargo Securities.

KKR Capital Markets is acting as the lead financial adviser for the offering.

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Shilpi Majumdar)