BWA Water Additives Sector: Industrials Date of investment: May 2006 Date of exit: Sep 2008 Return: 3.5x invested capital CBPE contact: Mathew Hutchinson The proof "Having had a very successful period working alongside CBPE we were only prepared to transition to a new investor if we could find the right partner. In UIB, we believe we have done this and we are looking forward to continued strong growth with them in the future." David Cartmell, Chairman and CEO of BWA Carving out a business Helping BWA become an independent market leader The opportunity Prior to our acquisition, the company now known as BWA Water Additives was the non-core industrial water chemicals subsidiary of Chemtura Inc. It had extensive experience in the water treatment sector, where its products were principally used to control the build up of scale and corrosion and to treat microbiological growth in water. Working with a management team led by Chairman and CEO David Cartmell, we identified an opportunity to create a new independent business and pursue its significant growth potential. The strategy In May 2006, we invested to acquire the business from Chemtura and renamed it BWA Water Additives. An early task was to install new and improved operational and reporting IT systems to enable the business to identify margins for each product and customer. We made significant investments in R&D and the sales team, in order to drive growth through product and market expansion. This included establishing new R&D Technical Centres in North America and the UK. We also extended the product portfolio by acquiring a suite of niche formulations from Atkinson Chemicals. The result BWA became a global market leader in the development and the marketing of speciality branded chemicals for the water treatment market. Headquartered in the UK and the USA, the business operated in over 80 countries worldwide and experienced revenue growth from $90m to $120m under our ownership, while headcount doubled during the same period. We realised our investment through the sale of the business to UIB Bank of Bahrain in September 2008, and this generated a return of 3.5x. At the time of our exit a pipeline of new products was in place to help underpin future growth. Previous All case studies Next Get in touch We’re not silent investors, we’d like to talk and find out more about you. If you feel the same, please get in touch. Contact T +44 (0)20 7065 1100 enquiries@cbpecapital.com Location CBPE Capital LLP 2 George Yard London EC3V 9DH Media enquiries Peter Ogden Powerscourt Phone: +44 (0)20 7250 1446 Email: Peter.Ogden@powerscourt-group.com Copyright © 2021 CBPE Capital LLP. All rights reserved. CBPE Capital is committed to conform with the Walker guidelines. CBPE Capital LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Privacy Policy. Legal. Make an enquiry Name Email Message Send