Nestle Sells Half of Waters Unit to Platinum Equity For $3.4 Billion as Shakeup Hits Profit — Update

By Aimee Look

Nestle is offloading half of its water business to private equity group Platinum Equity through a joint venture in a $3.4 billion cash deal, while shouldering hefty costs from its efforts to slim down.

The Swiss giant said it struck a deal with Platinum Equity to create a joint venture and shed a 50% stake in its Waters and Beverages business for 3 billion euros in cash ($3.42 billion). The new business, called Peranel, has an enterprise value of 4.9 billion euros. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027.

Restructuring costs weighed on profits in the first half. Net profit for the period was 3.47 billion Swiss francs, below company-compiled analyst estimates that had anticipated net profit to remain relatively unchanged on year at 5.07 billion francs.

Nestle's new chief executive, Philipp Navratil, is undertaking an overhaul of the maker of Nescafe coffee and Purina pet food in a bid to steady the ship after a string of setbacks, underperformance and management upheaval in recent years.

His efforts since taking the helm in the fall have focused on trimming its behemoth portfolio, mirroring moves by rivals in the sector. The Swiss giant has said it is cutting around 16,000 jobs, has sold off brands and is reorganizing the business around four main categories--coffee, pet care, nutrition and food.

Write to Aimee Look at aimee.look@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 23, 2026 02:49 ET (06:49 GMT)