Nestle may have a problem selling their water plant at Ginnie Springs if they have no water supply. And currently their supplier has no permit. We aim to keep it that way, just as we aim to keep our water in the ground and in the river. Read the good news here. Nestle has treated the world so badly that few will shed a tear for them.
Read the entire article here at this link.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
Nestle kicks off $5 billion sale of Pure Life, other water brands, sources say
LONDON (Reuters) – Nestle NESN.S has kicked off the sale of its North American water brands including Pure Life and Poland Spring, according to four sources familiar with the matter, as the world’s largest food group continues to exit slow-growth businesses.
The brands being sold, which also include Deer Park, Ozarka, Ice Mountain, Zephyrhills and Arrowhead, could fetch around $5 billion, said one of the sources, based on core earnings of around $600 million.
Nestle boss Mark Schneider – who has bought and sold around 50 businesses since taking over in 2017 – wants to retain control of premium water brands like Perrier and San Pellegrino and sell the rest of the portfolio.
He said in June he wanted Nestle to shift its focus to better performing water brands which include Acqua Panna while the rest of the business was being put under review.
Private equity funds including Apollo APO.N, that focus on turnaround deals and cutting costs to improve profit, are expected to show interest, the sources said.
Morgan Stanley MS.N is running the sale which has also drawn interest from some industry players, one of the sources said.
Dutch bottling company Refresco, which has a large business in the United States, is among those who could explore a bid, either alone or teamed up with a financial investor, two of the sources said.
Primo Water PRMW.TO and Niagara Bottling may also join the race for all or part of the portfolio, they said.
Nestle wants first-round bids by the end of October, according to one of the sources.
The assets on the block generated 3.4 billion Swiss francs ($3.72 billion) in 2019 sales.
Guggenheim analysts said last year the water brands were declining at roughly 2 percent, without the impact of coronavirus, and could fetch $4.9 billion-$5.9 billion….
Reporting by Martinne Geller and Pamela Barbaglia;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
