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Kuwait-backed US car wash operator plans $3bn sale

Kuwait Spotless Brands Pixabay/Creative Commons
Spotless Brands is working with US investment bank William Blair on the possible sale
  • Spotless Brands has 205 locations
  • Wafra took minority stake in 2023
  • Kuwait is long-term investor in US

A Kuwait-backed car wash operator in the US is considering a sale that could value the company at nearly $3 billion including debt. 

Spotless Brands, which operates more than 205 locations through six brands across 10 US states and Washington DC, is working with investment bank William Blair on the possible sale, which was not guaranteed, sources told Reuters.

Spotless was established in 2020 by private equity firm Access Holdings. In 2023 Wafra acquired a minority stake in Spotless as part of a $600 million fundraising round.

Wafra is a New York-headquartered investment company owned by Kuwait’s public pension fund (Public Institution for Social Security of Kuwait) and has around $30 billion of assets under management.

It has a diverse portfolio of investments, including real estate, aviation, shipping and renewable energy. 

Wafra has experience in the car wash industry, having previously grown El Car Wash into the largest and fastest-growing express car wash operator in South Florida. It exited that investment in 2022, selling to private equity firm Warburg Pincus for an undisclosed sum. 

Kuwait has been a long-term investor in the US. Sovereign wealth fund Kuwait Investment Authority had 33 percent of its portfolio value in the US, according to an analysis carried out by AGBI last year, but just 2 percent in China.  

As of November 2024, Kuwait also held approximately $51 billion in holdings of US Treasury bonds, a year on year increase of 19 percent.