Strauss teams up with Virgin to bring Strauss Water purification products and services to the UK and Ireland At a later stage the joint venture will aim to expand to France, Australia and South Africa Virgin Group and Strauss Water today announced the formation of a joint venture to provide consumers with healthy, great tasting water. The Joint Venture will offer purified water based on Strauss’s proprietary technology which is environmentally friendly and gives consumers great value for their money. Virgin Strauss Water will utilize the Virgin brand, under a 30 year agreement, to market, sell and service Strauss Water's products, initially in the UK and Ireland. The joint venture operations will benefit from the products, technologies and the water expertise of Strauss Water and its existing operations, which have operated in the UK since 2004. The venture is expected to be operational in the UK in 2012, with additional countries targeted for expansion at a later stage. The partnership will leverage the complementary capabilities of both companies: Strauss Water's unique technology and expertise in solutions for drinking water treatment, and Virgin Group's powerful brand and marketing skills. Strauss Water and the Virgin Green Fund ("VGF"), an independent private equity firm affiliated with the Virgin Group, intend to invest $10M in cash in the venture ($2.5M and $7.5M respectively). Strauss Water is also contributing its existing UK business. Following this investment Strauss Water will own 58% and Virgin Green Fund 42% of the joint venture. Within the next few months the parties have the option to increase the total investment to $20 million to the JV to fund its future growth. Assuming the additional funding , Strauss Water will own 51% and Virgin Green Fund 49% of the joint venture. Gadi Lesin, President & CEO of Strauss Group said: "Strauss Group is today completing another milestone in its global evolution and in the development of Strauss as a global brand. Our connection with Virgin has exceptional strategic implications in laying the groundwork for further development of Strauss Water as a key growth driver of the Group in the coming years. Strauss Water brings knowledge and expertise in water treatment, and Virgin Group is a world leader in creating consumer value with a powerful, loved brand". Rami Ronen, CEO of Strauss Water said: "I am proud of the fact that Virgin Group chose to establish a partnership with us in view of our expertise and excellent ability to provide consumers with pure, tasty water at point of use – highest quality, affordable and easy to use hot and cold water. Strauss Water is currently operating a successful partnership with Haier Group in China to market its products there, and I am confident that our expertise and technology, combined with Virgin's leadership in understanding and meeting consumers' needs, will result in the creation of a company that specializes in the supply of pure, safe and tasty drinking water to consumers in countries around the world ". Gordon McCallum, Senior Partner, Virgin Group: "We look forward to working with Strauss Group to expand and develop their market leading water business in the UK and then to other key countries served by the Virgin Group. The combination of Strauss Water's great technology and Virgin's marketing flair will be a winning partnership." Shai Weiss, Founding Partner, Virgin Green Fund: "We are pleased to be making this significant investment in Strauss Water's UK operation alongside the Virgin Group. We are confident we can build a leading consumer water company leveraging Virgin's outstanding reputation for caring about consumers. Strauss Water has an excellent track record for innovation and service and is another great example of the type of water related business in which our firm invests" About Virgin Group : Virgin Group (‘Virgin’) is a leading international investment group and one of the world's most recognized and respected brands. Conceived in 1970 by Sir Richard Branson, Virgin has gone on to grow successful businesses in sectors ranging from transport, mobile telephony, financial services, leisure, music, renewables and health & wellness. Virgin has created more than 400 branded companies worldwide and employs approximately 50,000 people, in 30 countries. Global branded revenues in 2010 exceeded £13 billion ($21bn). About Virgin Green Fund: Virgin Green Fund is a leading, independent private equity firm investing growth capital in the renewable energy and resource efficiency sectors in North America and Europe. VGF deploys growth capital in product, equipment and service companies with proven commercial success and strong underlying fundamentals operating in our core sectors and geographies. VGF seeks to help management teams increase the value of growth businesses by utilizing its equity, experience and global networks to help companies seize opportunities and solve problems . Virgin Green Fund has offices in London and San Francisco and has been launched with the backing of the Virgin Group, one of the best known investment and operational firms in the world. For more information, visit www.virgingreenfund.com About Strauss Group: Strauss Group is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Israel with 5 core business units: Strauss Israel (the second largest food and beverage company in Israel), Strauss Coffee, Strauss North America (Sabra Dipping Co., a joint venture with PepsiCo), chocolate chain Max Brenner, and Strauss Water. The company operates in 17 countries and employs 14,000 people globally. Traded on the Tel Aviv Index, Strauss Group holds a high credit rating of AA+ and had net revenues in 2010 of NIS 6.85 billion ($1.83 billion). Strauss Group has strategic partnerships with leading multinational companies including: PepsiCo and Frito-Lay, Danone, Haier and TPG. About Strauss Water Strauss Water is a world leader in providing quality drinking water. Engaged in the development, production and marketing of drinking water purification, filtering, heating and cooling systems, Strauss Water provides in-home and away-from-home solutions, such as the Water Maker, for quality hot and cold water. It is currently active in Israel, China and the UK. .