Nestlé spins off its water business into a joint venture

The Swiss food giant is setting up a joint venture called Peranel with the US private equity firm Platinum Equity. It will be based in Paris. The deal values the business, which includes brands such as Perrier and San Pellegrino, at €4.9 billion euros and CHF4.5 billion respectively. Both partners will each hold a 50% in the joint venture. Nestlé will receive CHF2.8 billion from the partial sale, the food group announced on Thursday. The transaction comes as no surprise. Nestlé had already…