Praesidian Capital, a provider of senior and subordinated capital for small and mid-sized businesses, has exited its first-lien debt investment in Aquasana, a Texas-based provider of residential water filtration systems and replacement cartridges.
Praesidian’s debt investment supplemented an equity investment by L Catterton, the largest consumer-focused private equity firm in the world.
Aquasana was acquired in August 2016 by A O Smith Corporation, a manufacturer of residential and commercial water treatment systems, heaters and boilers.
Praesidian’s 2015 investment in Aquasana provided capital to support the company’s vision for strategic growth. With this additional funding, Aquasana was able to further develop its direct-to-consumer residential and retail water treatment capabilities, grow its recurring revenue Water-for-Life continuity programme, and launch new products including the Aquasana Active powered pitcher device and on-the-go filtration bottle.
Together, these efforts helped Aquasana achieve more than 20 per cent year-over-year revenue growth.
Under A O Smith’s ownership, Aquasana will serve as a product and geographical extension to A O Smith’s leading position in China’s reverse osmosis water treatment market.
“We are grateful for the support and partnership of the Praesidian team which helped us enable growth and attract new owners under A O Smith,” says Todd Bartee, Aquasana’s chief executive officer.
Jason Drattell, founder of Praesidian Capital, says: “Aquasana has flourished with this investment and evolved its product lines and partnerships to capture greater market share in an increasingly relevant USD2 billion industry. We are pleased to have taken part in this growth story alongside L Catterton and to have driven substantial value creation along the way.”
