Its Polarcold division includes facilities in Dunedin and Mosgiel, Auckland, Timaru and Christchurch, which employ about 80 staff in total, plus casuals.
Emergent Cold has 12 sites and 450 staff across Australia and more than 70 cold storage and dock facilities and 420 staff in Vietnam.
The Scales deal is subject to approval from the Overseas Investment Office.
An Emergent Cold spokeswoman in Australia said the company was retaining all employees and was "already actively exploring several new investment opportunities across New Zealand".
Scales shares were up almost 3% on the news, at $4.90, almost 40% up on a year ago.
Scales managing director Andy Borland said the company was approached by Emergent Cold, which saw Polarcold as part of its development of a global network of cold chain businesses.
Scales' other interests include apple and pear exporting, pet food, bulk storage and transport.
For its past year, trading to December, Scales' revenue grew 7% to a record $399.1 million, while profits eased 16% to $38.2 million.
Scales chairman Tim Goodacre said the company was refreshing its strategy and adopting a greater focus on pure agribusiness interests.
He said the Polarcold division was "less aligned" with Scales' other core strengths and its financial returns were also lower, relative to its other business divisions.
"At this stage there is no intention to return capital to shareholders.
"Rather, the proceeds are intended to be used to pursue other attractive opportunities in New Zealand agribusiness, both currently and in the future," Mr Goodacre said.
