BDT Capital to Buy Culligan From Advent, Centerbridge, Valuing Company at $6bn

BDT Capital Partners LLC is taking a majority stake in Culligan International Co., becoming the latest in a string of private-equity firms to own the water-treatment specialist, officials from the companies said.

The parties aren’t disclosing terms of the deal, to be announced Tuesday, but a person familiar with the matter said it values Culligan at $6bn including debt. Advent International Corp., Culligan’s current majority owner, plans to reinvest in the business and hold a minority stake.

Based in Rosemont, Ill., Culligan sells products and services for water filtration and treatment. Founded in 1936 as a maker of water softeners, its product lineup now includes items as simple as water-filter pitchers and as complex as whole-house and business-filtration systems. Culligan offers monthly service contracts with most of its products, accounting for about 65% of sales and generating the steady cash flows that private equity prizes.

It has more than 7,500 employees and 1,000 dealers in 90 countries, making it one of the largest players in what the company estimates is a $35bn global market for consumer water services.

Under Advent’s ownership, Culligan’s revenue has tripled thanks to an aggressive M&A strategy and high-single-digit organic growth. Culligan has done 90 acquisitions since Advent bought it in 2016, primarily of small, family-owned companies in markets like Germany, Italy and Spain. In 2019, Culligan announced a deal to buy AquaVenture Holdings Ltd., a publicly traded U.S. maker of bottle-free water coolers, for $1.1bn including debt. It has also expanded into pitchers and machines that dispense filtered water, such as those that might be found in an airport.

Source: Wall Street Journal

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