EU approves Nestlé’s planned water joint venture

Brussels has cleared the next major step in Nestlé’s retreat from direct control of its water division. The European Commission approved the planned joint acquisition of Nestlé Waters of Luxembourg by Vevey-based Nestlé and US investment firm Platinum Equity on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. The decision removes the EU competition hurdle for a transaction that will create a new company called Peranel.

The Commission said the deal mainly concerns bottled water and related beverages. Its review found no competition concerns because Nestlé and Platinum Equity do not operate in the same market or in related vertical markets. The approval came under the EU Merger Regulation.

The transaction gives Platinum Equity a 50% stake in Nestlé’s bottled water business. Nestlé announced the partnership in July after seeking a way to divest part of the division since 2024. The business has faced sustained scrutiny following the illegal filter scandal involving mineral water treatment in France.

Nestlé had not responded to questions from the AWP news agency when the approval was reported. The company expects the deal to close during the first half of 2027, subject to the remaining steps required to complete the transaction.

Peranel will bring together more than 30 brands sold in 120 countries. The portfolio stretches across several markets and includes S.Pellegrino, Acqua Panna, Perrier, Vittel, Contrex and Hépar. It also includes the Swiss brand Henniez, French labels and Buxton in Britain, as well as Sohat in Lebanon.

That geographic spread gives the joint venture an immediate international footprint. For Nestlé, the arrangement preserves an economic interest in the business while transferring half of ownership to Platinum Equity, a US investment firm. The structure also separates the water portfolio from the rest of Nestlé’s food and beverage operations.

The division has remained a sizeable but complicated part of the group’s portfolio. Bottled water brands operate across different regulatory systems, source locations and consumer markets. The European Commission’s decision addresses the competition question, while the new company will still need to manage those operational and reputational challenges.

The website peranel.com is already live and lists the brands included in the planned venture. The final company structure and completion timetable remain tied to the transaction process, which Nestlé has said should conclude in the first half of 2027.

Nestlé’s water business enters the partnership after a damaging French controversy over mineral water treatment. A 2025 report cited by Swissinfo accused the French state of covering up unauthorised practices linked to Nestlé’s water operations. The controversy centred on the use of illegal treatments and filters on mineral water.

Nestlé’s planned divestment has unfolded against that backdrop. The company began seeking a way to reduce its direct exposure to the water division in 2024, before announcing Platinum Equity as its partner in July 2026. The EU approval does not address the allegations or settle the wider regulatory and reputational issues surrounding the brands.

Those issues will remain relevant to Peranel’s management. Mineral water labels depend on claims about source, purity and treatment, while regulators in Europe continue to monitor how companies handle those claims. Consumers, retailers and public authorities will assess the new joint venture through that existing record.

The European Commission’s review was narrower. Brussels examined whether the proposed ownership arrangement would harm competition in the EU market. It concluded that Nestlé and Platinum Equity lacked overlapping or vertically connected activities that would create such concerns.

Nestlé values the planned venture at €4.9 billion, approximately CHF 4.5 billion. The Swiss group expects to receive about CHF 2.8 billion during the first half of 2027, when it anticipates finalising the transaction. The figures give investors a clear measure of the capital Nestlé plans to unlock from the water division.

For the Vevey group, the deal offers a new ownership model for a business with international reach while retaining a 50% stake. Platinum Equity will become an equal partner in the venture and will take on a direct role in operating the portfolio. The arrangement also gives Nestlé a financial return without fully abandoning brands that remain familiar to Swiss consumers.

Henniez provides the clearest local connection. The Western Swiss brand will sit alongside French names such as Perrier, Vittel, Contrex and Hépar, and international labels including S.Pellegrino and Buxton. Their performance will help determine whether Peranel can combine a broad portfolio with consistent standards across markets.

The EU clearance marks a formal milestone, not the final handover. Nestlé’s stated target remains completion in the first half of 2027, after which the new company’s financial performance, brand strategy and response to the division’s regulatory history will come under closer scrutiny.