John C. Goff, vice chairman and CEO for the Fort Worth-basedCrescent, says the AmeriCold REIT plan quietly got underway in late2003 and will wrap up by Nov. 18, the deadline for folding aseparate logistics company into the real estate end of theoperation and simultaneously closing a $145-million sale for 20.7%of the emerging company to Yucaipa Cos., an 18-year-old privateequity fund with an aggregate $14.6-billion transactionshistory.

Goff says Yucaipa brought the buy-in opportunity to the JV. Theupcoming merger and REIT structuring "enabled us to get a deal donewith them...at more than what 'the Street' ascribed to thisinvestment," Goff tells GlobeSt.com. "We now have more value thanour investment." The Fort Worth-based Crescent, the 40% stakeholderin the JV, will have recaptured more than half of its $300-millioninitial investment in AmeriCold when the deal closes, according toGoff. The 60%-owner Vornado, headquartered in Paramus, NJ, issitting with a comparable return.

From Goff's perspective, the Yucaipa buy-in is a coup. "I alwaysthought it offered more upside than the industry analysts gave itcredit for," Goff says. "Getting an entity like Yucaipa reallyvalidates the company." For previous story, click here.