{"id":1222,"date":"2026-02-11T19:31:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T19:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/1222\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T19:31:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T19:31:14","slug":"nestle-reportedly-launches-sale-process-for-e5b-water-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/1222\/","title":{"rendered":"Nestl\u00e9 reportedly launches sale process for \u20ac5B water business"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nestl\u00e9 has begun a formal sale process for its water and premium beverages business, with potential buyers being asked to submit first-round bids this month, according to Bloomberg.<\/p>\n

The business \u2014 which includes Perrier, S.Pellegrino, Acqua Panna, Vittel and Contrex \u2014 is valued at around \u20ac5 billion (US$5.2 billion). Banks are preparing \u20ac2\u20133 billion (US$2.1\u20133.1 billion) in debt financing to back a potential acquisition, with Rothschild & Co. advising Nestl\u00e9 on the sale.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Private equity firms, including PAI Partners, Blackstone, KKR, Bain Capital, and Clayton Dubilier & Rice, have expressed interest in the asset, according to sources given to Bloomberg.<\/p>\n

The Swiss food giant separated\u00a0<\/a>its water and premium beverages activities into a standalone global business on January 1, 2025, under the leadership of Muriel Lienau, former head of Nestl\u00e9 Waters Europe. At the time, then-CEO Laurent Freixe said the company would explore \u201cpartnership opportunities to enable Nestl\u00e9\u2019s iconic brands and growth platforms to achieve their full potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

The water business has delivered solid recent performance. In its nine-month 2025 results, Nestl\u00e9 reported organic growth of 4.4% for the unit, with market share gains led by S.Pellegrino. \u201cGrowth was driven by the Maison Perrier and Sanpellegrino beverage platforms with continued innovation, as well as solid sales momentum for out-of-home channels,\u201d the company stated.<\/p>\n

However, the business remains a small part of Nestl\u00e9\u2019s overall portfolio and has been dogged by regulatory controversy in France.<\/p>\n

Regulatory shadow<\/p>\n

A French Senate inquiry published in May 2025 found that the government had concealed \u201cillegal practices\u201d by Nestl\u00e9 Waters. The six-month investigation, involving 73 hearings with ministers, business leaders, and health officials, focused on the company\u2019s use of prohibited water treatment methods, including ultraviolet filtration and activated carbon filters at its Perrier, Vittel, H\u00e9par, and Contrex facilities.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Nestl\u00e9 Waters admitted using banned treatments on its mineral waters and paid a \u20ac2 million (US$2.3 million) fine to settle criminal probes without admitting guilt. France\u2019s fraud control agency estimated the total cost of the deception at over \u20ac3 billion (US$3.1 billion).<\/p>\n

A Nestl\u00e9 spokesperson responded to the senate report by stating that \u201cfood safety is the company\u2019s primary goal\u201d and that \u201call its natural mineral water products on the market have always been and remain safe to drink.\u201d<\/p>\n

In November 2025, a French court rejected a complaint<\/a> from consumer advocacy group UFC-Que Choisir, which had sought to prevent Perrier from marketing its sparkling water as \u201cnatural mineral water\u201d due to its use of microfiltration processes. The Nanterre court found no established health risk and ordered UFC-Que Choisir to pay \u20ac5,000 (US$5,800) to Nestl\u00e9.<\/p>\n

However, UFC-Que Choisir has filed two additional legal complaints against Nestl\u00e9, meaning the company still faces litigation stemming from the scandal.<\/p>\n

Strategic shift<\/p>\n

The potential sale marks the latest step in Nestl\u00e9\u2019s strategic transformation under CEO Philipp Navratil, who took over in September 2025. At its November 2024 Capital Markets Day, Nestl\u00e9 announced plans to deliver at least CHF 2.5 billion (US$3.1 billion) in cost savings by the end of 2027, while increasing investment in advertising and marketing.<\/p>\n

The company previously sold its North American regional spring water brands, purified water business, and beverage delivery service to One Rock Capital Partners for US$4.3 billion in 2021, retaining only its international premium brands.<\/p>\n

Nestl\u00e9 has declined to comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nestl\u00e9 has begun a formal sale process for its water and premium beverages business, with potential buyers being…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1223,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126],"tags":[1633,199,1631,1632,1630],"class_list":{"0":"post-1222","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nestle","8":"tag-divestiture","9":"tag-nestle","10":"tag-perrier","11":"tag-s-pellegrino","12":"tag-water"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}