Waterlogic is to acquire the water cooler division of PHS Group (PHS Waterlogic) for an undisclosed amount.
PHS Waterlogic is a long established water cooler business active in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands. The business exclusively distributes Waterlogic manufactured and branded point-of-use water (POU) coolers, and was originally acquired by PHS Group from Waterlogic in 2000. PHS Waterlogic adds a total of circa 90,000 POU water coolers on rental and service contracts to Waterlogic’s existing operations.
The UK business of PHS Waterlogic will be merged with Angel Springs, one of the leading UK bottled water and point-of-use businesses acquired by Waterlogic in December 2014. The combined Waterlogic UK operation will be able to deliver unparalleled service to the workplace hydration market, with the most comprehensive offer in point-of-use water coolers, bottled water coolers, and under-the-sink filtration systems.
“The UK business of PHS Waterlogic is an excellent strategic fit with our existing Angel Springs footprint,” says John Dundon, CEO of Angel Springs. “The combination of national reach with local density will ensure we are able to continue serving our new and existing customers in the best possible way. The full and combined range of bottled water coolers, point-of-use and under-the-sink systems means we can offer every organisation a solution for virtually every situation.
The Irish and Dutch businesses of PHS Waterlogic add two new direct rental and service markets, in addition to Waterlogic’s existing operating base in nine countries around the world.
“The acquisition of PHS Waterlogic demonstrates our strong commitment to building a global water cooler company through a buy-and-build strategy coupled with organic growth,” says Jeremy Ben-David, Founder and Group CEO of Waterlogic. “The addition of 90,000 water coolers, two new direct markets in the Netherlands and Ireland, and the creation of a very significant Waterlogic UK operation, able to deliver excellent service nationally and locally, represents a substantial milestone on Waterlogic’s path towards becoming the most preferred supplier for workplace drinking water.”
Waterlogic was acquired in January 2015 by funds managed by Castik Capital, the European private equity investor. The acquisition of PHS Waterlogic is the sixth manifestation of the company’s buy-and-build strategy and follows the acquisitions of Just Water International and Unlimited Water in Australia, Clear Water in Norway and Greenworks Water in the UK in 2015, as well as Castik’s 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, Waterlogic will be best placed to meet the growing demand.
Waterlogic and Castik were advised on the transaction by Altium (M&A and debt advisory), White & Case (legal), EY (financial), Deloitte (tax), Arendt & Medernach (structure/legal) and Pöllath + Partners (structure/legal).
