Culligan International Explores a Sale

Water treatment company Culligan International is weighing a sale that could value the business at about $900 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Chicago-area company—known for its advertising featuring homeowners intoning "Hey, Culligan Man!" for help with hard water—is working with bankers at Citigroup Inc. to evaluate a potential sale, the people said.

Culligan tapped bankers after fielding multiple approaches by larger companies, one of the people said.

The company, founded in 1936 by Emmett J. Culligan in Northbrook, Ill., sells home filtration systems, water softeners and jugs of water for water coolers.

Private-equity firm Centerbridge Partners LP in 2012 struck a deal to take control of the business from Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC in an out-of-court restructuring after buying its debt at a deep discount. CD&R had purchased Culligan from French waste and water utility Veolia Environment SA for $610 million in 2004.

Centerbridge recruited Scott Clawson to serve as Culligan's chief executive. Mr. Clawson previously led GSI Group Inc., an agricultural equipment manufacturer Centerbridge sold to Agco Corp. for $940 million in 2011.

Industrial M&A has been a bright spot in an otherwise lackluster deal environment. The year kicked off with Johnson Controls Inc. and Tyco International PLC agreeing to merge in a $14 billion tax inversion deal. In May, private-equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC bought home-security alarm maker ADT Corp. in a nearly $7 billion deal. Metering company Badger Meter Inc. is exploring a potential sale, people familiar with the matter have said.

ENDS

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 27, 2016 17:15 ET (21:15 GMT)

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