P&O, the British ports and ferries group, announced it has sold its cold logistics business "P&O Cold Logistics" to Versacold Holding Corp. of Canada for £183 million pounds ($320 million).

Commenting on the announcement, Robert Woods, P&O Chief Executive said: "Under the leadership of its strong management team, P&O Cold Logistics has developed into one of the leading cold logistics operators in the world. As P&O continues to focus on its fast growing international ports business, it is time to look to another owner to take the cold logistics business to the next stage. Versacold is a well respected operator in the industry and we have every confidence that the business, its employees and customers will continue to thrive under its new ownership."

P&O Cold Logistics is estimated to be the third largest cold storage and distribution operator in the world (measured by capacity of refrigerated space). It has over 3,000 employees located across approximately 50 sites in the US, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina. The business provides specialised skills, systems and equipment for temperature controlled logistics for customers in the food industry.

Versacold Holdings Corp. is one of Canada's leading suppliers of public refrigerated warehousing services and the sixth largest supplier in North America (in terms of capacity of refrigerated space). It has a fully integrated network of 25 facilities across Canada from British Columbia to Québec and in Wisconsin and Washington in the US.

Through its 49 year history, P&O Cold Logistics has developed leading systems and processes enabling it to provide its customers with a wide range of logistics services, from basic storage and transport to on-line inventory management.

P&O, who has also recently sold their shipping business P&O Nedlloyd to danish Shipping group A.P. Moller - Maersk Sealand Group revealed Sunday it had received a "very preliminary" takeover approach from a possible buyer which it didn't identify. The suitor is widely believed to be Dubai-based DP World, a global container terminal operator, which is understood to be willing to pay up to $5.5 billion for P&O, the world's fourth-largest ports company.

P&O Cold Logistics details in Argentina:
Circunvalacion y del Valle
Mercado Central de Buenos Aires Autopista Richieri y Boulogne Sur Mer
B1171AOA Tapiales - BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
Telephone: +54 11 4008 7900
Fax: +54 11 4008 7968