Richard Heckmann, the former CEO of Palm Desert-based US Filter announced early Tuesday that his acquisition firm would acquire China Water and Drinks Inc., a Nevada-based company operating in Asia as a bottled water seller, for about $625 million.
China Water, which will produce 1.1 billion small water bottles and 21 million five-gallon jugs by the end of the year, ranks fifth among competitors in Asia, behind Coca-Cola China which ranks fourth, Heckmann said. The water business hasn’t reached a saturation point in China where individuals drink 13 liters per year on average, he said. Americans drink 110 liters, he added.
Heckmann founded his former Fortune 500 company, US Filter, in 1990 and produced bottled water, filtered water and designed waste-water systems. In nine years, Heckmann grew US Filter’s annual revenue to $3.2 billion in 1999 largely by acquiring other water filtration companies. It was sold to Paris-based Vivendi S. A. that year for $6.2 billion.
Local entrepreneur to acquire bottled water firm - News for Inland Southern California
