SHANGHAI, Nov. 30, 2012 -- Fresh Water Group Limited, a leading purified water service provider in China, announced today that it has raised additional capital to build a new manufacturing facility in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. The new factory will triple Fresh Water’s existing production capacity, enabling the company to satisfy robust customer demand for its patented Ozner-branded water purification systems. In this round of financing, Goldman Sachs joins an investor group that already includes SAIF Partners and Ares Management. The management team of Fresh Water, including founder Shu Xiao, will continue to be the largest stakeholder of the company.
“We have been humbled by the rapid expansion of our business,” said Shu Xiao, Fresh Water’s founder and CEO. “China is increasingly focused on the quality of its drinking water and is recognizing the unparalleled benefits of our product line and the convenience of our services. We are proud to have the support of such world-class institutions as SAIF, Ares Management and Goldman Sachs, each with an established track record of sponsoring high-growth businesses, and we are excited to see what we can achieve together.”
About Fresh Water
Fresh Water Group Limited is a leading purified water service provider in China that primarily manufactures and distributes drinking water purification machines for both commercial and residential use under the Ozner brand name. Fresh Water owns over 60 patents around its proprietary developed ozone purification technology as well as air filtration. The company works closely with a dealer network consisting of approximately 900 distributors to sell pre-paid annual water cards / usage subscriptions. Fresh Water is the drinking water solution for many Fortune 500 Companies and government authorities. The company was a preferred partner of the World Expo 2010.
About SAIF Partners:
SAIF Partners is an Asia-based private equity firm with approximately $4 billion of capital under management and dedicated local offices and investment teams in Hong Kong, China (Beijing, Shanghai, Changzhou, Harbin) and India (Delhi). SAIF makes privately negotiated equity or equity-linked investments across several growth sectors such as consumer products & services, technology, media, telecom, financial services, healthcare, travel and tourism, and manufacturing. The firm focuses its efforts primarily on China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan) and India. For more information, visit www.sbaif.com.
About Ares Management:
Ares Management LLC is a global alternative asset manager and SEC registered investment adviser with approximately $56 billion of committed capital under management and over 550 employees located across the United States, Europe and Asia. The firm's investment activities are managed by dedicated teams in its Private Equity, Private Debt, Capital Markets and Commercial Real Estate investment platforms. The Ares Private Equity Group in Asia, led by Sean Xing He, primarily pursues shared-control investments in high-growth Chinese companies with strong business franchises and world-class management teams. For more information, visit www.aresmgmt.com.
About Goldman Sachs:
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. a is leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world.
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