Flexis Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, and Eurazeo, through its investment division Eurazeo Brands, have acquired Waterloo Sparkling Water.
The Flexis Capital–led equity consortium also includes JW Levin Management Partners and Waterloo Capital’s investors.
Founded in 2017, Waterloo Sparkling Water offers a range of fruit-flavoured carbonated waters. The brand’s beverages are reportedly free from calories, sodium, sugar and artificial sweeteners, and are made with Non-GMO Project Verified and Whole 30 Approved flavours.
The new capital will be used to grow Waterloo’s business by accelerating product and marketing innovation.
Waterloo says that the investment will also provide it with additional operational resources and brand-building expertise.
Post-acquisition, Waterloo CEO Jason Shiver is continuing to lead the company alongside COO Jeff Arnold.
“We’re very proud of the company we’ve built so far, the distinct consumer appeal of our products and the tremendous support of our retail distribution network,” said Shiver.
“Choosing the best partners for Waterloo was critical to continuing our momentum and we’re confident that Flexis Capital, Eurazeo and JW Levin will provide deep brand-building experience and industry relationships that will be key to accelerating our growth, while Moore Strategic Ventures’ financial acumen will add firepower to our capabilities.”
As part of the deal, Stephen Sadove and Jerry Levin, founding partners of JW Levin Management Partners, will join Waterloo’s board as non-executive chairman and a director respectively.
The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Louis Friedman, managing partner of Flexis Capital, added: “Jason Shiver and Jeff Arnold have a history of success developing category-leading brands, and are deploying a similar playbook at Waterloo as they executed to help grow SkinnyPop and Amplify Snack Brands and achieve a sale to Hershey for $1.6 billion.
“We’re incredibly excited to partner with them as the company embarks on its next stage of growth, tapping into new channels and reaching a broader audience across the US.”
