Spindrift Beverage Company has reached an agreement for San Francisco-based private investment group Gryphon Investors to acquire a majority stake in the sparkling water brand, and is tapping experienced CPG executive Dave Burwick as its new CEO.

The deal, expected to be closed sometime in Q1 of this year, will see Spindrift founder and current CEO Bill Creelman retain a “significant equity stake” in the company while shifting into a new role as chairman of the board.

Creelman will be joined on the board by Ryan Fagan, managing director at Gryphon, as well as Gryphon partners Matt Farron and Mike Ferry.

• Founded in 2010, Massachusetts-based Spindrift hit its stride after early experiments in craft soda evolved into its flagship product: sparkling water blended with fresh squeezed fruit juice, a concept that proved a hit with consumers and retailers seeking a differentiated product within the saturated category. 
• Over the 52-week period ended December 28, 2024, Spindrift dollar sales totaled over $275 million while volume increased 22%, according to Goldman Sachs analysis of NielsenIQ data. The brand has also dabbled in innovation, including Spindrift Spiked hard seltzer.

A Wall Street Journal story in December indicated that a deal with Gryphon Investors could be valued above $650 million.

“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built at Spindrift over the past 15 years,” said Creelman in a press release. “For this next stage of growth, we looked for two things: a leader who could understand our business and the brand as natively as the people who work here today and an investment partner with the right financial and operational resources to galvanize our market leadership."

Read the full scoop here. BevNET Insiders can access our continuing coverage for all of the deal details.