Investment firms complete buy of Nestle Waters North America

STAMFORD — Nestle Waters North America, the Stamford-based producer of bottled-water brands including Poland Spring, announced Wednesday the completion of its $4.3 billion sale to two investment firms — a deal that is not expected to disrupt the company’s local operations.

Parent company Nestle has sold the business to One Rock Capital Partners and Metropoulos & Co., with the transaction originally announced on Feb. 17.

In a related move, Dean Metropoulos, founder of his family-owned investment firm, has become Nestle Waters’ chairman and interim CEO. He has 40 years of experience operating and investing in food and beverage brands, according to company officials.

“I am pleased to have the opportunity to lead NWNA as it enters the next phase of evolution,” Metropoulos said when the sale was announced. “This is an important inflection point for the business as it transitions to an indepen

dent company, and I look forward to collaborating with One Rock and NWNA’s management team to deliver unparalleled value to our customers.”

As one of the largest beverage companies in North America, the Nestle Waters portfolio includes the regional water brands Poland Spring, Deer Park, Ozarka, Ice Mountain, Zephyrhills and Arrowhead, as well as the Pure Life and Splash lines. Nestle’s international premium-water brands Perrier, S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna were not included in the sale.

Nestle Waters ranked as the 13th-largest employer in Stamford, with 610 local employees, in the third quarter of 2020, according to the Stamford Office of Economic Development. The company’s main offices are at 900 Long Ridge Road.

“At this time, we are unaware of any expected changes in regard to where we operate today,” a Nestle Waters spokesperson told Hearst Connecticut Media last month. “We will be operating largely business as usual.”

Vevey, Switzerland-headquartered Nestle had indicated that it would make major changes when it announced last June that it would explore “strategic options” for the majority of the Nestle Waters business.

Today, Nestle Waters employs about 7,000 in the U.S., and more than 230 in Canada.

It runs 27 production facilities across North America and operates the direct-toconsumer and office beverage-delivery service ReadyRefresh.