September 11, 2008
As part of their Q3 press release today, Eimskip announced that they have made a strategic decision to sell Versacold Atlas.
“We (Eimskip) are diligently working towards our stated goal of lowering our debt levels.”
“Eimskip’s key focus will be on streamlining our organization and the goal of bringing our equity ratio to 25%. To that end, a formal sale process of Versacold Atlas has begun in cooperation with our engaged Canadian banks.”
This is a decision by Eimskip that will enable them to delever their balance sheet and restore their business to good financial health. This was an anguishing decision for them because they like the cold storage sector and also because Versacold Atlas has outperformed their expectations. Our performance is what makes us such an attractive and saleable asset. It’s hard to know whether to be flattered or disappointed that we will be sold.
The key thing to keep in mind is… ownership changes, but the business carries on. We continue to work together as a team to serve our customers. This is a dynamic day to day business that is built on years of operational knowledge and relationships… there is no such thing as auto-pilot for us. We continue to make every effort to apply our specialized knowledge and thereby give our customers a competitive service advantage.
We have many opportunities to grow the business in response to our customers’ growth plans and changing needs and also to respond to other marketplace situations, including acquisitions. A change in ownership will allow us to move forward from our current steady state position and grow the business. Our track record has proven that we are very good at this.
The sales process will probably take several months. We will keep you updated.
Best regards,
Brent Sugden
CEO
VersaCold Atlas Logistics
