Close Bros sells BWA

Close Brothers Private Equity has sold BWA Water Additives, a chemicals company based in the UK and the US, to United International Bank, a Bahrain-headquartered investment bank.

The sale has generated a return of 3.5x from Close Brothers, which backed an MBO of BWA from Chemtura in May 2006, supporting chairman and CEO Dr David Cartmell.

The business develops and markets speciality branded chemicals for the water treatment market. It specialises in controlling the build-up of scale and corrosion and to treat microbiological growth in water. It operates in over 80 countries, and since the MBO has grown revenues from US$90m to US$120m.