HaloSource, a US based clean water and antimicrobial technology company, has raised $11.5 million from new and existing investors in a growth round funding. India focused private equity funds Origo Sino-India Plc (OSIL) and Origo Resource Partners Ltd (ORPL) have led the round and was joined by the existing investor Unilever Technology Ventures (managed by Physic Ventures).
The funding will be used to support the continued commercialisation of its HaloPure drinking water purification business, which has a distribution tie-up with EurekaForbes in India. The company is targeting the global water purification market worth around $18 billion annually and growing at between 15-20 per cent.
The two new investors, OSIL and ORPL, are together picking up 11 per cent stake in the company for their combined investment of $10 million. According to reports, HaloSource will issue new shares, and the payment will be split between ORPL and OSIL on a 30:70 basis. Both OSIL and ORPL are also to receive warrants on a 1 for 4 basis, for subscription of further equity.
Last year HaloSource had raised $15 million from 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. In addition to these other investors in HaloSource include - Alexander Hutton Venture Partners; Buerk Dale Victor LLC; Britannia Holdings Ltd.; Unilever Technology Ventures and Mars, Inc.
HaloSource launched its business in India in 2006 in partnership with Mumbai-based Eureka Forbes. HaloSource uses a chemical called bromine to kill microorganisms in water. It has distributed around 250,000 units of its purifier in India through its partnership with Eureka Forbes. The company has patented its HaloPure drinking water disinfection technology. The product is available in a jug-and-cartridge form, called AquaSure, which costs around $40 to $60. Replacement cartridges cost $7 to $10, and typically last for about six months.
HaloSource has also developed HaloShield antimicrobial treatments and in partnership with Clorox, the leading bleach brand in the US and other products such as SeaKlear and StormKlear (water clarification solutions to treat swimming pools and industrial waste water).
Origo Sino-India PLC is an AIM listed private equity investment and advisory company focused on core economic growth opportunities in China and India. The size of its fund is $100 million.
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. Earlier this year Origo-Sino had picked up 20 per cent stake for $16 million in the Hyderabad based Roshini International Bio Energy (RIBEC), which claims to be controlling the world’s largest non-edible tree borne feedstock.
“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,†said John Kaestle, President and CEO of HaloSource, on the recent round of funding.
Though HaloSource has already established its business in India and China, it plans to expand these operations and sees the BRIC countries as a huge market. “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,†said Kaestle.
“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,†he added.
