Waterlogic to acquire Australian division of Just Water International
London/Sydney, 16 April 2015 - Waterlogic has entered into an agreement under which Waterlogic’s Australian subsidiary has agreed to purchase Just Water International Limited’s Australian business (“Just Water Australia”) for c. A$11 million. This represents a multiple of c. 6.0x reported EBITDA, before synergies.
Just Water International Ltd is a New Zealand listed water cooler business founded by Tony Falkenstein. The sale is provisional based on the approval at a special meeting of Just Water shareholders that will be held on 28 April 2015 in Auckland.
Waterlogic is already the clear market leader in point-of-use water coolers in Australia, with c. 25% market share. Just Water Australia adds c. 10,000 POU water coolers to Waterlogic’s existing Australian operations, and significantly strengthens its footprint in Queensland and New South Wales. Just Water Australia operates under several brands, including Clearwater Filter Systems, The Watercooler Company, Just Water Filter and Clearwater. These will over time be re-branded to Waterlogic, and existing customers of Just Water Australia will be given the option to upgrade to a high-quality Waterlogic machine.
“The acquisition of Just Water Australia is a further step towards our goal of building a global champion in the water cooler industry,” said Jeremy Ben-David, CEO and Founder of Waterlogic. “Just Water Australia consolidates Waterlogic’s market leadership in the Australian point-of-use water cooler segment and creates an ideal foundation for further growth in the Australian market.”
Waterlogic was acquired in January 2015 by funds managed by Castik Capital, the European private equity investor. The acquisition of Just Water Australia is the second manifestation of Castik’s buy-and-build strategy for Waterlogic, following the acquisition of Angel Springs, the UK distributor of bottled and point-of-use water coolers, in December 2014. Castik Capital believes that this buy-and-build strategy in a fragmented market, coupled with tenacious organic growth in an industry characterised by attractive growth and recurring revenues, can create significant value by forming a globally leading water cooler company in the forthcoming years.
Notes to editors:
Waterlogic
Waterlogic is a leading designer, manufacturer, distributor and operator of mains attached point-of-use ("POU") drinking water purification and dispensing systems designed for environments such as offices, factories, hospitals, hotels, schools, restaurants and other workplaces. Founded in 1992, Waterlogic was one of the first companies to introduce POU systems to Europe and has been a leader in the POU market in terms of product design and quality, the application of new technologies and in sales and service. Waterlogic has an extensive and expanding independent global distribution network in place, reaching over 50 countries around the world.
Waterlogic products are currently being distributed in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and South Africa. Waterlogic's leading markets are the USA, Australia and Western Europe, in particular Scandinavia, Germany and France.
Of the 2.1 million new POU and bottled water installations in the commercial market in the USA and Europe between 2005 and 2012, approximately 77% incorporated POU technology, of which approximately 29% were Waterlogic products.
Global Website:www.waterlogic.com
Australian Website: www.waterlogicaustralia.com.au/
Castik Capital
Castik Capital S.à.r.l (“Castik Capital”) manages investments in private equity. Castik Capital is a European multi-strategy investment manager, acquiring significant ownership positions in European private and public companies, where long-term value can be generated through active partnerships with management teams.
Castik has an investment horizon of up to ten years - longer than most other private equity funds. This enables Castik to focus resources on its portfolio companies and ensure sustainable, long-term value creation.
Founded in 2014, Castik Capital is based in Luxembourg and focuses on identifying and developing investment opportunities across Europe. The advisor to Castik Capital S.à.r.l is Castik Capital Partners GmbH, based in Munich. Investments are made by the Luxembourg-based fund, EPIC I SLP, the first fund managed by Castik, which had its first close at EUR 625m in June 2014, and is targeting a final fund close of EUR 1bn in the coming months.
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