The Commerce Commission has received a clearance application from Osmosis Buyer Limited (Osmosis) to acquire Firewall Holdings S.À R.L (Firewall) as part of a global transaction.
Osmosis' New Zealand subsidiary, Zenith Heaters Limited (trading as Zenith Water), supplies and services multi-function taps that dispense instant filtered, boiled, chilled and sparkling water from a single outlet.
Firewall's subsidiary, Waterlogic New Zealand Limited (trading as Merquip), is a New Zealand supplier and service provider of drinking water dispensers.
As part of its application for clearance, Osmosis has offered an undertaking to divest the entire Merquip business.
A public version of the clearance application will be available shortly on the Commission's case register.
Background
Osmosis Buyer Limited is a portfolio company of BDT Capital Partners, LLC. It controls entities that operate the Culligan group, an international provider of water treatment solutions. In relation to New Zealand, Culligan controls Zip Industries, whose principal business is Zenith Water.
Firewall Holdings S.À R.L is a portfolio company of Castik Capital Partners GmbH. It is the majority shareholder in Waterlogic Group Holdings Limited, which owns Billi Australia Pty Limited, an Australian-based business that makes, sells, and supplies Billi-branded multi-function taps. In 2021, Waterlogic acquired the business and assets of Merquip Limited.
We will give clearance to a proposed merger if we are satisfied that the merger is unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market. In giving clearance, the Commission may accept a written undertaking from the Applicant to dispose of assets or shares.
