Hawkesbridge seeks Australian bottled water company exit

Noble is the number three player in the Australian pure bottled water segment. The company claims its flagship brand Pureau, which was founded in 1987, is the only Australian water that is guaranteed to be free of bacteria, fluoride, chlorine, sodium and other impurities found in tap water.

Noble is distributed through Australia's dominant supermarkets Coles and Woolworths, as well as IGA grocery stores and also supplies the country's airforce.

"It was a classic management buyout where we provided the majority of the capital," David Plumbridge, managing partner at Hawkesbridge Capital, told AVCJ. "It was typical of most of our portfolio investments in that we wanted to take a business that was being run as a family company and institute formal governance, board processes and financial management to take them to the next level so they would be attractive to international trade buyers."

Noble has delivered a CAGR of 14% since 2010 with an expected 5% growth in the future. Its revenue in the 2012 fiscal year was around A$12 million, while its EBITDA was around A$2 million.

Hawkesbridge is looking to exit via a strategic buyer but would also consider  a secondary private equity investor.

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• Topics
• Exits
• Australasia
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• Australia
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