Firms complete $4.3B deal for Nestle Waters
North American company employs 500 in the Lehigh Valley
By Jon Harris
Two Lehigh Valley bottling plants and seven spring sites throughout eastern Pennsylvania are now controlled by private-equity firms.
One Rock Capital Partners LLC and Metropoulos & Co. on Wednesday announced the completion of the $4.3 billion deal to buy Nestle Waters North America. The acquisition was announced Feb. 16. It came about eight months after Swiss food and beverage giant Nestle S.A. said it would conduct a strategic review of its North American waters division, as it sought to sharpen the focus of its global water portfolio.
With the deal complete, Metropoulos & Co. founder Dean Metropoulos has been appointed chairman and interim CEO of Nestle Waters North America.
The sale included all of Nestle Waters North America’s U.S. factories, warehouses, offices and branches. That includes the company’s two-building, nearly 1.1 million-square-foot complex in Breinigsville, which primarily produces Deer Park spring water and Nestle Pure Life bottled water, which is then distributed to major retail and grocery customers throughout Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic.
The two plants, where about 500 people work, are supplied by seven spring sources in Pennsylvania: Greenwaltz Springs in Bangor; Hoffman Springs in New Tripoli; Arrowhead Spring in Newmanstown; Nature’s Way Spring in Foster; Pine Grove
Spring in Pine Grove; Sasoonan Springs in South Coventry; and Valley View Springs in Hegins.
When asked about plans for the local operations, Nestle Waters spokesperson Alix Dunn said the leadership teams are working on a “forward-looking strategy.”
“There are still a lot of details to be finalized, and we will provide relevant information as it is available,” Dunn said. “In the meantime, we remain focused on our current operations, including our commitment to the communities where we live and operate. The company’s new owners will continue to support our commitment to investing in and partnering with local communities.”
Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, Nestle Waters North America has about 7,000 employees in the United States and more than 230 people in Canada. The company has 27 production facilities across North America and sources water for six regional spring water brands from 42 active springs in the United States and Canada.
While the bottled water business had been growing — in 2016, bottled water outsold carbonated soft drinks in the United States for the first time — those gains stalled recently. In 2020, Nestle’s water division posted a sales decrease due to its “high exposure to out-of-home channels and on-the-go consumption,” the company said in February.
In addition, the bottled water business has faced stiff competition from grocery store brands, and consumers have increasingly opted for sparkling or flavored waters. Many also have raised concerns about plastic waste.
In addition to Deer Park and Pure Life, the sale to One Rock and Metropoulos & Co. includes several other brands in the United States and Canada: Poland Spring, Ozarka, Ice Mountain, Zephyrhills, Arrowhead and Splash. The deal does not include Nestle’s international premium brands, Perrier, S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna.
While Nestle has unloaded its waters division in North America, the company still has a presence in the Lehigh Valley through its other business units.
That includes Nestle USA’s roughly 1-million-square-foot distribution center at 555 Nestle Way in Breinigsville, while Nestle Purina has a manufacturing plant in South Whitehall Township.
Morning Call reporter Jon Harris can be reached at 484280-2866 or at jon.harris@ mcall.com.