FRYEBURG, Maine â The sale of Poland Spring Brand Natural Spring Water, which gets water from springs around Fryeburg, to One Rock Capital Partners LLC and Metropoulos & Co. was announced March 31 as part of the private equity firms previously announced acquisition of Nestle Waters North America, including Poland Spring, from Nestle S.A.
According to Vending Times, Dean Metropoulos, an industry veteran with 40 years of experience operating and investing in food and beverage brands, has been appointed chairman and interim CEO of Nestle Waters North America.
Metropoulus & Co describes itself as a family-owned investment firm and is based in Greenwich, Conn.
Poland Spring Natural Spring Water Sold In $4 Billion Deal
If you haven t heard, Poland Spring water is now owned by One Rock Capital Partners and Metropoulos & Co., in a $4.3 billion deal. Previously owned by Nestle, several North American brands of water were included in the sale according to an article by the Bangor Daily News, Poland Spring Brand Spring Water, Deer Park Spring Water, Ozarka Spring Water, Zephyrhills Spring Water, Arrowhead Spring Water, Pure Life.
Now with the sale complete the private equity firms plan to breath new life into a stale market for spring water as sales have slowly declined over the years.
Maine Public
Nestle announced yesterday it has sold Poland Spring, and its other bottled water brands to two private equity firms.
The two, One Rock Capital Partners and Metropoulos and Company, will pay $4.3 billion dollars for the brands, all of which operate and sell bottled water in North America.
Poland Spring employs about 860 people in Maine with three bottling plants and ten water sources in the state.
Nestle will continue to own and operate international premium water brands, including Perrier and S. Pellegrino.
Dean Metropoulos, who led turnarounds at Hostess Brands and Pabst Brewing Co., will serve as chairman and interim CEO of the company.
The sale of the Poland Spring water business is official, as of Thursday, but whether there will be any changes in Maine is not yet clear.
Nestle SA, which sold Poland Spring to private equity interests, had a one-line press release Thursday saying the deal had closed but offered no other information.
The deal, which was first announced in February, included regional spring water brands, including Maine-based Poland Spring, to a pair of private equity firms for $4.3 billion.
The buyers are an affiliate of One Rock Capital Partners LLC, a New York-based investment firm focused on high-potential middle market businesses, and Metropoulos & Co., a family-owned backer of several food and beverage brands including Hostess Brands, Utz snacks, Pabst Brewing Co. beer and Ghirardelli Chocolates. Dean Metropoulos serves as CEO of the company.
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