OASE Living Water Acquires Atlantic Water Gardens

Argand Partners, the New York- and San Francisco Bay Area-based middle market buyout firm, today announce that OASE Living Water (“OASE”) has acquired US-based Atlantic Water Gardens (“Atlantic”), a leading supplier of innovative outdoor water feature products and systems to the North American market. Headquartered in Hörstel, Germany, OASE is the global market leader in water gardening products, offering a suite of products that enable the creation of tranquil, inviting outdoor oases, from simple to elaborate. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Atlantic Water Gardens has a 30-year history of supplying professional grade water feature products to landscape contractors through distribution channels in the US, Canada and Mexico. As part of the OASE Group, Atlantic will gain access to the worldwide landscape construction market. Atlantic is the perfect fit to OASE’s product portfolio and will enhance the range of products OASE sells worldwide. By the same token, OASE’s PRO Line, which is geared toward the expert user, will now be available to the professional market in North America.

“We have been collaborating with European landscapers for years and see an opportunity to build on this experience with professional contractors in the North American market,” said Thorsten Muck, CEO of OASE. “We are excited about this expansion as it gives us the opportunity to work with the highly respected and talented team at Atlantic. Their product range and expertise will enhance our ability to serve an even broader range of customers worldwide.”

“Joining forces with OASE will provide excellent channels to deliver our state-of-the-art water features to landscapers beyond North America. What’s more, OASE’s wide range of premium water gardening equipment is highly complementary to Atlantic’s systems and projects,” said Jeff Weemhoff, President of Atlantic Water Gardens. “We look forward to providing OASE’s cutting edge, German-engineered technology to our clientele. Together, we will create the most innovative and comprehensive water gardening business in North America.” Weemhoff added, “Whether the beginning hobbyist or the professional landscaper – by reaching out to a more diverse base of water garden enthusiasts, our goal is to transform and inspire the North American water gardening industry.”

“This transaction represents a further step in the execution of our strategic growth initiatives for OASE,” remarked Heather Faust, Partner & Managing Director of Argand Partners. “We admire the what the team at Atlantic has built and believe that both businesses will benefit from their combined capabilities,” added Dino Sawaya, Vice President of Argand Partners.

Company information:

ABOUT OASE LIVING WATER

Headquartered in Hörstel, Germany, OASE has more than 700 employees worldwide and production facilities in Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and China, doing business in two segments:

The Consumer Business Unit (Water Gardens, Indoor Aquatics, Drainage & Irrigation) is focused on pumps, filters and equipment for private ponds, swim ponds, water courses and water features with proven success for decades. As the world market leader in this segment, OASE is a benchmark for innovation and quality. Through various acquisitions, OASE has expanded its activities, most notably into the field of indoor aquatics. The Company also recently launched its drainage & irrigation line.

The Commercial Business Unit (Fountain Technology and Lake Management) has designed and executed countless large-scale projects worldwide. Recent projects include the floating fountain at DaMing Lake (China) and the Unirii Square in Bucharest (Romania).

ABOUT ATLANTIC WATER GARDENS

Headquartered in Mantua, Ohio, Atlantic Water Gardens is a leading supplier of branded consumer water gardening products in North America. Atlantic manufactures and markets a full array of water gardening products in a variety of channels of trade with a heavy focus on the landscaping and contractors business in the US, Canada and Mexico. The Company has a strong engineering capability enabling it to bring innovative, new products to market ahead of industry trends.

ABOUT ARGAND PARTNERS

Argand is a New York‐ and San Francisco Bay Area‐based middle market buyout firm founded in 2015 by long‐time colleagues, Heather Faust, Howard D. Morgan and Tariq Osman. Argand is a growth‐oriented, control investor focused on complex, often contrarian, situations that involve solid, market‐leading industrial and industrial‐oriented consumer and energy businesses, often with significant global operations and expansion opportunities. Argand has more than $780 million in assets under management, which includes $230 million available to invest through a special purpose acquisition company. Argand’s portfolio includes Sigma Electric Manufacturing Corp., Brintons Carpets Ltd., Oase Living Water GmbH and Industrea Acquisition Corp.

The Argand team has a disciplined approach of investing in businesses that have the potential for transformational value creation through the implementation of managerial, operating and strategic initiatives. Argand focuses on investments into manufacturers and service providers, where the team has deep sector experience and can leverage its senior executive advisory network to drive the rapid execution of an investment thesis.

Further information on Argand can be found on the website: www.argandequity.com.

For more information about OASE or the transaction, contact:
Thorsten Muck
CEO OASE Group
+49 5454 80 240
t.muck@oase-livingwater.com

For more information about Argand, contact:
Heather Faust
Partner & Managing Director
Argand Partners
(212) 588-6470
hfaust@argandequity.com