Supply Chain · Profile from Supply Chain Research Companion
Lineage
Lineage, Inc., the Novi, Michigan–based temperature-controlled warehouse REIT (Nasdaq: LINE), the world's largest owner and operator of cold storage by its own count (company claim; ~480+ warehouses and ~3bn cubic feet reported around the IPO, verify current figures), built by Bay Grove, the San Francisco investment firm of Adam Forste and Kevin Marchetti, through hundreds of acquisitions of fragmented cold-storage operators in the US, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America from 2008 onward. Its customers are food producers, processors, retailers and food-service distributors — the frozen and chilled middle of the food chain that Sysco, Walmart and Costco depend on. Its story turns on roll-up economics and the cold chain's capital intensity: buy operators at modest multiples, add procurement, energy management, automation and network selling, refinance at the platform's lower cost of capital, and list. It did list — on 25 Jul 2024, at $78 a share, raising ~$4.4bn in the largest IPO of 2024 (company; Bloomberg) — and then lost more than half its value as post-pandemic food inventories unwound, occupancy softened and new cold-storage supply arrived: shares were ~$36 on 31 Oct 2026 (third-party quote, blueprint B3). FY2025 revenue was flat at ~$5.36bn and adjusted EBITDA fell ~2.3% to ~$1.30bn; 2026 guidance initially implied lower AFFO per share before a raise in Aug 2026 (company). The IPO and its aftermath are its signature failure; whether 2026's occupancy inflection is the turn is the open question.
At a glance
- Founded
- Bay Grove Capital's first cold-chain deals from 2008 (blueprint; Seafreeze cited as the first deal, verify date); CityIce (2009), then Flint River, Terminal Freezers and Richmond Cold Storage (2010–11); the combined business named Lineage Logistics around 2012 (Wikipedia gives Apr 2012) (reported, verify)
- Headquarters
- Novi, Michigan (verify); Bay Grove in San Francisco
- Ownership / structure
- Listed REIT since Jul 2024 (Nasdaq: LINE); Bay Grove and its co-investors retained a large stake after the IPO (verify current percentage); operating partnership structure with UPREIT units held by sellers who rolled equity, e.g. the Kloosterboer family (reported)
- Leadership (2026)
- Greg Lehmkuhl, president and CEO (CEO since ~2019, verify; quoted in Feb 2026 results); Adam Forste and Kevin Marchetti, co-founders and co-executive chairmen (verify titles)
- Segments
- Global Warehousing — storage (rent and storage fees per pallet), handling (receiving and shipping cases and pallets), blast freezing and value-added services; Global Integrated Solutions — transport, drayage, customs, e-commerce fulfilment and other services around the warehouses (company; verify segment names)
- Scale
- ~480+ warehouses and ~3bn cubic feet in ~19 countries (reported around the IPO, verify); revenue ~$5.355bn (2025, flat y/y) (company)
- Financials (2025)
- Revenue ~$5.355bn (flat); adjusted EBITDA ~$1,298m (−2.3%); AFFO ~$865m (+22.7%); AFFO per share $3.37 (+2.4%); Q4 2025 AFFO/share $0.83 (flat) (company release, 25 Feb 2026)
- Financials (2026)
- Q2 2026: revenue ~$1.36bn (+0.8%); AFFO/share $0.76 (−6.2%); adjusted EBITDA ~$320m (−1.8%); same-warehouse physical occupancy +90 bp and economic occupancy +70 bp y/y; FY2026 guidance raised to AFFO/share $2.80–3.05 (from $2.75–3.00) and adjusted EBITDA $1.26–1.29bn (from $1.25–1.30bn) (company 8-K, 5 Aug 2026). Q3 2026 results due 9 Nov 2026
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Bay Grove's founding and first cold stores (2008); the Lineage platform and US roll-up (2012–18); Preferred Freezer Services (2019); international expansion and Kloosterboer (2020–21); automation and network technology (2019–26); the IPO (Jul 2024); the post-IPO share-price fall and guidance cuts (2024–25, failure); the 2026 cost-discipline reset and occupancy inflection
8 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2008
Bay Grove Founding and First Cold Stores
Founding (via acquisition)
2012
Lineage Platform and US Roll Up
Acquisition programme (platform roll-up)
2019
Automation and Network Technology
Technology or automation bet: automated high-bay cold stores, energy optimisation, warehouse data science and a network operating system
2019
Preferred Freezer Services Acquisition
Acquisition
2021
International Expansion and Kloosterboer
Acquisition (with seller equity roll-over)
2024
IPO Largest of the Year
IPO
2025
Post IPO Share Decline and Guidance Cuts
Restructuring (failure): guidance reductions, cost programme and capital-allocation reset after a post-IPO share-price collapse
2026
Cost Discipline and Occupancy Inflection
Strategy reset: cost and capex discipline; guidance raised after occupancy turned