Nestle Sells NA Water Brands to Twinkie Turnaround Firm for $4.3 Billion
Nestlé S.A. will sell its North American spring water brands, purified water business and beverage delivery service to the One Rock Capital Partners and Metropoulos & Co. private equity firms for $4.3 billion.
Metropoulos has led turnarounds at such CG brands as Hostess Brands and Pabst Brewing Company, with additional investments including Utz, Pinnacle Foods, Aurora Foods, Stella Foods, The Morningstar Group, International Home Foods and Ghirardelli Chocolates, among others.
Its founder, Dean Metropoulos, will become Nestle Waters North America (NWNA)’s chairman and interim CEO, which is based in Stamford, CT, and has 27 production facilities and about 7,230 employees.
Kimberly D. Reed, One Rock Partner, said the business is expected to have greater resources and flexibility as a private company to strengthen its existing operations.
Nestle S.A. announced last year it was conducting a strategic review of parts of this business in order to sharpen its focus on its global water portfolio. As such, included within the NWNA deal are the Poland Spring, Deer Park, Ozarka, Ice Mountain, Zephyrhills, Arrowhead, Pure Life and Splash brands, which generated about $3.8 billion in sales in 2019.
It also includes Nestle S.A.’s U.S. direct-to-consumer and office beverage delivery service ReadyRefresh, but excludes the Perrier, S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna brands.
No. 1 consumer goods company expects the deal to help it hone in on its international premium brands, as well as its local natural mineral waters and healthy hydration products. It also intends to boost R&D around functional water trends and will continue to transform its global waters business to be better positioned for long-term growth, said Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider.
