Nestlé Sells North American Water Business For $4.3B

Nestlé NSRGY has announced the sale of its Nestlé Waters North America brands for $4.3 billion to the partnership of One Rock Capital Partners and Metropoulos & Co.

What Happened:. The sale includes the U.S. and Canadian brands for Poland Spring, Deer Park, Ozarka, Ice Mountain, Zephyrhills, Arrowhead, Pure Life and Splash, along with the bottling facilities for the brands and the U.S. direct-to-consumer and office beverage delivery service ReadyRefresh.

The company's international brands, including Perrier, S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, are not a part of the deal.

What Happens Next: Nestlé Waters North America is based in Stamford, Connecticut. The Swiss-headquartered parent company did not announce whether the sale would result in workforce changes, but it reaffirmed its goal of making its entire water portfolio carbon neutral by 2025.

"We continue to transform our global waters business to best position it for long-term profitable growth," said Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider.

"This sale enables us to create a more focused business around our international premium brands, local natural mineral waters and high-quality healthy hydration products. We will also boost our innovation and business development efforts to capture emerging consumer trends, such as functional water."

Photo courtesy Nestlé Waters North America.