DS Waters of America, a diversified beverage company, has agreed to be acquired by Crestview Partners. The transaction is expected to close within the next three months. Members of the management team will invest in the transaction alongside Crestview. DS Waters of America is owned by Solar Capital, Golden Tree Asset Management, Glenview Capital Management and Kelso & Co.
“We have followed the progress of DS Waters since 2011 and have tremendous respect for the management team. This is an opportunity to invest in one of the true market leaders within the beverage services industry, and we look forward to supporting management in executing their growth plans,” said Jeffrey Marcus, a Partner at Crestview Partners.
DS Waters of America is a diversified beverage company providing bottled drinking water, brewed beverages and water filtration systems to more than 1.4 million homes, offices, restaurants, food service organizations, convenience stores, and retail locations. The company’s bottled water products are sold under the brand names Alhambra, Athena, Belmont Springs, Crystal Springs, Deep Rock, Hinckley Springs, Kentwood Springs, Mount Olympus, Nursery Water, Sierra Springs, and Sparkletts. DS Waters also sells brewed coffee and tea beverages under the Standard Coffee brand and provides water filtration systems, equipment and services under the Relyant brand. The company supplies its products through 30 company-owned manufacturing sites across 40 US states and through 10 supplier-managed facilities. DS Waters of America is headquartered in Atlanta (www.water.com) (www.nurserywater.com) (www.coffeeservice.com) (www.myutapia.com).
“The retired CEO of DS Waters, Dillon Schickli, has partnered with us in this transaction and has advised us throughout our diligence process. We are excited that he and Jim Turner, a longtime beverage industry executive and current DS Waters shareholder and board member, will be investing alongside Crestview and joining our Board of Directors,” said Mr. Marcus.
Crestview Partners invests from $100 million to $250 million in companies with enterprise values up to $3 billion. Sectors of interest include media, financial services, healthcare and energy. The firm was founded in 2004 and is based in New York (www.crestview.com).
Evercore acted as financial advisor to DS Waters. Barclays and Jefferies LLC acted as M&A advisors to Crestview Partners.
“We are excited about this next step in the evolution of our company as we transition to new ownership,” said Tom Harrington, President and Chief Executive Officer of DS Waters. “Our partnership with Crestview will provide additional capital and support as we accelerate our growth, both organically and through acquisitions, and further expand our product offering.”
© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 7-24-13
