Health Water Bottling Co. Ltd, a company owned by Saudi Arabian conglomerate Olayan Group, is planning to go public by issuing 30 percent of its shares in a flotation in the first quarter of 2013, three sources said. Health Water, which was formed in 1973 and is the sole distributor of Holsten non-alcoholic beer and Power Horse energy drink in the Kingdom, is planning to raise between SR300 million and SR500 million ($80 million-$133 million) from the public offering, said one of the sources. Health Water, which also owns the "Nova" mineral water brand, has hired Morgan Stanley as financial advisor to manage the sale, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the matter is not public. Olayan Group has a multi-billion dollar portfolio of investments spread across major asset classes globally. "It's a pretty good business which generated about $120-$130 million in net income last year. A float from the group is going to generate investor interest," the source said. Health Water officials were not immediately available for comment. Traditionally, equity markets have been a popular source of funding for Saudi companies, given the nascent nature of bond markets and a slowdown in bank lending.
