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Warburg Pincus acquires majority stake in Watertec India, a leading polymer-based bath fittings brand Jun 27, 2023
June 28, 2023: Canyon Trail Investments B.V., an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing, has acquired a majority stake in Watertec India Private Limited (“Watertec” or “Company”).
Watertec, founded in 1996, is one of India’s leading polymer-based bath fittings brand with a deep distribution network spanning 20,000+ retail touchpoints. Watertec has a comprehensive product portfolio comprising of 1,900+ SKUs across various categories spanning taps, showers, mixers, health faucets, bathroom accessories, pipes, sanitaryware and other allied products. With three state-of-the art manufacturing facilities in South India, Watertec caters to customers pan-India with high-quality and affordable products that have a strong aesthetic appeal.
Ramesh Baliga, Executive Director and CEO, Watertec India said, “We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Warburg Pincus as we embark on an exciting phase of growth. This investment will enable us to fortify our leadership position in the polymer-bath fittings market, enhance our brand equity, expand our product portfolio and extend our geographic presence to newer regions allowing us to serve our customers and channel partners better.”
Anish Saraf, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus India said, “We believe bath-fittings is an attractive market poised for strong growth driven by secular tailwinds from increasing sanitation levels, increasing housing penetration in Indian Tier 2/3 cities spurring greater demand for bath and sanitaryware and the penetration of polymer-based products offering better durability. Watertec, with its leadership position, superior product quality and deep-distribution network targeting Tier 2, Tier 3 cities and rural India, is well positioned to capitalize on these tailwinds. We are particularly impressed with Watertec’s growth track record and industry-leading return metrics and look forward to supporting the management team in it’s next phase of growth.”
As a part of the transaction, Mathew Job will be joining the Company as the Executive Chairman. Mathew brings with him 30+ years of experience and expertise in scaling distribution-led consumer businesses. He was most recently, the CEO of Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals and in his prior roles, the Managing Director of Grohe India, a leading metal-based bath-fittings brand.
Mathew Job, incoming Executive Chairman, Watertec said, “Over the last 25 years, Watertec has built a trusted brand by delivering innovative and exceptional products to its customers. I’m looking forward to joining the talented team at Watertec led by Ramesh in this exciting new chapter and working towards a phase of transformative growth.”
About Warburg Pincus:
Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global growth investor. The firm has more than $80 billion in assets under management. The firm’s active portfolio of more than 250 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector, and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 21 private equity and 2 real estate funds, which have invested more than $109 billion in over 1,000 companies in more than 40 countries. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.warburgpincus.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.
About Watertec India:
Founded in 1996, Watertec is a leading polymer-based bath fittings brand based in Coimbatore, India. Watertec’s product portfolio has over 1,900 SKUs and is present at 20,000+ retail touchpoints pan-India. The company has three state of the art manufacturing facilities in Coimbatore with production capacity of up to 35 million units per annum, 35 warehouses across the country and 1,600+ employees.