BOTHELL, WA, July 18, 2008 -- HaloSource, the clean water and antimicrobial technology company, has raised $11.5 million from new and existing investors in a further round of growth financing, to support the continued commercialisation of its HaloPure drinking water purification business.
The financing has been raised from two new investors, Origo Sino-India PLC (OSI.L) and Origo Resource Partners Limited (ORP.L) and from existing investors including Unilever Technology Ventures, a fund managed by Physic Ventures.
This round of funding follows a $15 million investment in the company in July 2007 from the Masdar Clean Tech Fund, the Abu Dhabi based clean technology investment vehicle combining the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company and a consortium of investors including Credit Suisse, Siemens and Consensus Business Group.
Origo Sino-India PLC (www.origoplc.com) is an AIM listed private equity investment and advisory company focused on core economic growth opportunities in China and India. Origo Sino-India provides consultancy services to Origo Resources Partners Limited, a fund which invests in private-equity opportunities in the resources sector in China and India.
The HaloPure business was launched in India in 2006 in partnership with Eureka Forbes, the country's leading provider of home water filters. The company believes that the substantial reduction in product price that its technology allows has increased the potential market for household purification devices in India by a factor of three and that more than one million consumers are now enjoying access to low-cost bacteria-free and virus-free water in their homes thanks to the company's revolutionary, patented HaloPure drinking water disinfection technology.
HaloSource (www.halosource.com) has also established partnership arrangements with Chanitex, a leading Chinese water treatment company and, in Brazil, with Everest, a consumer water device manufacturer. Negotiations are underway with a number of major multi-national and regional companies for the use of HaloPure technology in a variety of consumer product applications.
Harnessing similar technology, the company has developed HaloShield antimicrobial treatments and in partnership with Clorox, the leading bleach brand in the US produces Clorox FreshCare anti-microbial towels, now sold in Wal-Mart stores across the country. Through its SeaKlear and StormKlear brands, HaloSource also provides water clarification solutions to treat swimming pools and industrial waste water.
John Kaestle, President and Chief Executive Officer of HaloSource, said: "We are excited to add a firm as well respected as Origo to our already deep base of investors. Origo operates in the markets we target and understands the significant impact HaloPure will have on the growing problem of access to safe drinking water and the opportunities that this offers. The water purification market is worth around $18 billion annually and with the rapid development of economies such as China, India and Brazil, is growing at between 15% and 20% a year.
"There remain great opportunities for us to provide primary water disinfecting technology in the BRIC markets and countries with less developed infrastructure in addition to providing a complementary solution to current water purification approaches in the first world.
"We have a technology which is simple, effective, offers good value and is well received by consumers. We are already in business in India and in China and the funds raised, together with the profitable revenue streams we have from our water clarification and antimicrobial coatings businesses, will help us both expand our geographic reach and deepen our positions in these large, valuable and growing markets."
Chris Rynning, Chief Executive Officer of Origo Sino-India PLC said: "Our investment in HaloSource underlines our focus on working with fast-growing companies and we look forward to working with the highly experienced management team that HaloSource has assembled to capture the significant growth opportunities available."
Also see: Halosource cracking consumer market in India
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