Nestlé agrees to sell 50% stake in bottled water business for around 3 billion euros in cash
Agreed to sell 50% of its bottled water business to Platinum Equity for approximately 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) in cash. The Swiss food giant's chief executive, Philipp Navratil, is pushing ahead with plans to cut underperforming businesses. Platinum Equity, a private equity firm backed by billionaire Tom Gores, beat out other buyers in the bid. The bottled water business owns brands such as Perrier and S.Pellegrino. The two companies issued a statement on Thursday saying that they would establish a joint venture called Peranel, with each party holding 50% of the shares and an enterprise value of 4.9 billion euros. In addition, Nestlé reported organic sales growth of 3.6% in the first half of the year, higher than analysts' expectations of 3.51%.