The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has approved a proposed joint venture between Nestlé and a Platinum Equity-controlled entity covering Nestlé’s waters and beverages business, including its bottled water operations in Pakistan.
What happened?
The CCP cleared the transaction after a Phase-I assessment under the Competition Act, 2010, concluding it would not substantially lessen competition or create or strengthen a dominant position in Pakistan’s bottled water market. The Commission authorised the deal under Section 31(1)(d)(i) of the Act, in an order dated October 16, 2026, with the approval reported on November 7.
Key details
- Nestlé Pakistan’s water business, sold under the Nestlé Pure Life brand, will be transferred as a going concern to a newly incorporated, wholly owned subsidiary, “Newco Pakistan”, through a scheme of arrangement.
- The business will then move into WPB JVco S.à r.l., a Luxembourg-incorporated special purpose vehicle, with Forward I S.à r.l. — an entity controlled by Platinum Equity — acquiring a shareholding and establishing joint control with Nestlé.
- The CCP defined the relevant market as bottled water products in Pakistan and found no horizontal or vertical overlap between the businesses concerned.
- The published order does not disclose the acquisition percentage, the transaction consideration, or Nestlé Pakistan’s estimated FY2025 market share.
- The clearance is limited to merger review under Section 11 of the Competition Act; other regulatory approvals remain subject to their own laws.
- The deal forms part of a wider reorganisation of Nestlé’s waters and beverages business across several jurisdictions. The global venture, announced in July and named Peranel, covers brands including Perrier, S.Pellegrino and Nestlé Pure Life, and Nestlé has said it expects the transaction to close in the first half of 2027, subject to employee consultations and regulatory approvals.
What it means for people in Pakistan
For consumers, the clearance means the Pure Life brand’s ownership structure will change while the regulator found no competition concern in the bottled water market. The approval removes one regulatory hurdle, but the deal still needs other approvals before it closes, so shelves and prices are unlikely to change in the short term.
Source: https://www.brecorder.com/news/40447900/ccp-approves-nestle-platinum-equity-joint-venture
