 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Business Services |
| Founded | 1955; 70 years ago (1955) |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | United States and Canada |
Key people |
|
| Products | Water, water dispensers, refill machines, filtration equipment |
| Services | Home and office bottled water delivery, pre-filled multi-gallon bottled water and self-service water refill available at retail locations, and filtration services. |
| Revenue |  US$1.953 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended January 2, 2021)[1] |
 –US$0.052 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended January 2, 2021)[1] | |
| –US$0.131 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended January 2, 2021)[1] | |
| Total assets | US$3.604 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended January 2, 2021)[1] |
| Total equity | US$1.346 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended January 2, 2021)[1] |
Number of employees | 10,400 (2021) |
| Website | primowatercorp |
Primo Water Corporation (formerlyCott Corporation) is an American-Canadian water company offering multi-gallon bottled water, water dispensers, self-service refill water machines, and water filtration appliances. The company is headquartered inTampa, Florida, and services residential and commercial customers across theUnited States,Canada,Europe, andIsrael.
Cott Beverage Corporation was founded in 1923 by Solomon Cott, a Polish immigrant, with his sons Harry, Barney, Jack and Albert inPort Chester, New York. Harry Pencer, a clothier fromMontreal,Quebec, began to import Cottsodas into Quebec in 1952. In 1955, Pencer acquired the Canadian rights to the Cott label and established Cott Beverages (Canada) Ltd., to bottle the Cott line of sodas. From 1976 to 1991, under the leadership of his sonGerry Pencer, Cott expanded its distribution throughout Canada and back into the U.S. and into Europe.[2] In 1969, the name was changed to Cott Beverages Ltd., and in 1991 to Cott Corporation.[3]
In October 2000, Concord Beverages, with its Vintage brandseltzer water, was acquired from Honickman Group.[4] In July 2010, Cott announced its acquisition ofCliffstar Corporation, a US supplier of store-supplied and made juice beverages.[5]
Beginning in 2014, Cott expanded via acquisitions predominantly in the bottled water industry and exited the carbonated beverages business. In May 2014, Cott completed the acquisition of Aimia Foods (Holdings) Limited, a privately held producer and distributor of hot chocolate, coffee and powdered beverages, hot and cold cereal products located inMerseyside,United Kingdom.[6] In December 2014, Cott completed the acquisition of DSS Group, Inc. a bottled water and coffee direct-to-consumer home and office delivery services provider in the United States. The aggregate consideration was approximately $1.25 billion.[7]
In January 2016, Cott completed the acquisition of Aquaterra, a Canadian bottled water and coffee delivery services provider, for approximately C$62 million.[8] Eight months later, Cott acquiredEden Springs, a European water and coffee deliverer, for approximately €470 million,[9] and premiumcoffee roaster S&D Coffee and Tea, for approximately $355 million.[10]
On January 30, 2018, Cott sold its carbonated soft drinks and juice bottling businesses toRefresco for US$1.25 billion.[11] The transaction included the Cott business units in North America,the UK andMexico.[12] That October, Cott announced the acquisition ofMountain Valley Spring Company from Great Range Capital for $78.5 million[13] The next February, Cott announced the sale of its soft drink concentrate production facility and RCI International division to Refresco for US$.25 billion.[14][15]
In January 2020, Cott sold S&D Coffee and Tea toWestrock Coffee Company, LLC for US$405 million.[14]
On March 2, 2020, Cott completed its purchase of Primo Water Corporation for US$775 million.[16] As part of the purchase agreement, Cott rebranded as Primo Water Corporation and changed its ticker symbols to NYSE:PRMW and TSX:PRMW.[17]
In July 2022, Primo Water Corporation acquiredGeorgia-based Highland Mountain Water for an undisclosed sum.[18]
In November 2024, Primo Water merged withBlueTriton Brands (Nestlé Waters' North America subsidiary). The new company is known asPrimo Brands.[19]