DS Waters of America, Inc. and Crestview Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, announced the closing of the acquisition of DS Waters by funds advised by Crestview. The company will maintain its headquarters in Atlanta, Ga.
Tom Harrington, president and chief executive officer of DS Waters, said, in a prepared statement, "As a result of this new partnership with Crestview, we are more confident than ever in our ability to expand our product and service offering and geographic reach while maintaining our outstanding customer service in metropolitan markets throughout the U.S."
Jeffrey Marcus, a partner at Crestview, said, "We are very pleased to have the opportunity to participate alongside a highly experienced management team in the growth of one of the true market leaders in the beverage services industry."
Created in 2003, DS Waters is a U.S.-based bottled water, water filtration and coffee service company, with a long history of great American brands. The transaction will enable DS Waters to focus on the company's bright future as a market leader in the direct-to-consumer beverage services market. The partnership with Crestview positions DS Waters to continue its growth both organically and through acquisitions across the home and office delivery (HOD), office coffee service and water filtration industries. Post-transaction, the company will continue to build its national distribution network through expansion of its sales and marketing efforts and distribution of new products and services.
DS Waters offers brewed coffee and tea beverages under the Standard Coffee® brand, as well as office break room supplies. DS Waters provides water filtration systems, equipment and services under the Relyant® brand.
Evercore acted as financial advisor to DS Waters, and Proskauer Rose LLP was the company's legal advisor.
Barclays and Jefferies LLC acted as M&A advisors to Crestview Partners, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP was the legal advisor.
