Lineage trades under the ticker ‘LINE’ and closed over 3% higher on its first trading day|@NasdaqExchange|X
Lineage, the world’s largest cold-storage company by capacity, recently launched its IPO in the Nasdaq Stock Market and raised $4.4 billion at a valuation of over $18 billion, making it the biggest initial public offering of 2024.
It trades under the ticker “LINE” and closed over 3% higher on its first trading day.
The last time an IPO was this big was in September 2023, when chip designer Arm raised $4.8 billion.
The company’s success is largely due to its aggressive acquisition strategy.
Starting with one warehouse in Michigan, the company has made 116 acquisitions and now has over 480 facilities across North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific.
Adam Forste and Kevin Marchetti, two former Morgan Stanley investment bankers, founded Lineage in 2008. During the financial crisis, they saw cold storage as a stable investment.
Lineage’s facilities help reduce supply chain food waste, a significant environmental issue contributing to 11% of the world’s emissions. An estimated $600 billion worth of food is wasted annually during or right after harvest.
Forste mentioned that many family-owned companies they acquired have retained equity in Lineage, creating a strong network of facilities. The IPO was underwritten by major financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan, and Wells Fargo.