Cloverleaf Cold Storage Co. Inc. agreed to merge with Zero Mountain Inc. in a deal that the parties said would establish the fifth-largest cold storage warehouse platform in the U.S.

The deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, is expected to close during the first quarter. The combined company will have a presence across all three major protein production corridors, with about 140 million cubic feet of capacity across nine states.

Existing Cloverleaf investors, including fund affiliates of private equity giant Blackstone Group LP, the Kaplan and Feiges families and Medley Management Inc., will jointly invest significant equity to support the transaction.

Zero Mountain's Mark Rumsey and Joe Rumsey will continue in their leadership positions in the newly combined business.

Alford Law and Dykema were legal advisers to Zero Mountain. Wells Fargo Securities acted as financial adviser while Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel to Cloverleaf.