By Rich Bowden:
A consortium led by Japanese company the Mitsubishi Corporation has successfully acquired Australian water company United Utilities Australia Pty Ltd (UUA) for $A225 million, making it the first Japanese public-private partnership of its kind for the purchase of an overseas utility.
Parent company United Utilities announced in a May 10 statement that it had agreed to sell its Australian subsidiary to a consortium which included the Mitsubishi Corporation, the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), Manila Water Company, Inc. and JGC Corporation.
The $A225 million purchase of the utility was a major step forward for Manila Water, which will own 12.7 percent interest in the utility, as it looks to increase its international presence, said a company spokesperson.
“This transaction will improve the company’s competitiveness and visibility in the region as it focuses to expand operations in emerging countries with significant water scarcity problems,” the company said in a statement to the Philippines stock exchange.
“Given its proven track record, the company will contribute significantly to the expertise and experience of the existing UUA Group across provision of operations and maintenance and asset management services,” said Manila Water in a statement.
Comprised of companies operating in Australia that own and operate 35 water treatment plants, 22 wastewater treatment facilities, nine water reuse schemes and four desalination plants, UUA has provided water and wastewater treatment services to over 3 million people throughout the country since its inception in 1991, said the company news release.
It adds that UUA’s capabilities covers “…the full life cycle of water and wastewater treatment projects including project finance, design and construction upgrades and refurbishments, operation and maintenance, asset management, utility services, laboratory testing, billing and customer services.”
The acquisition of UUA is also the first collaboration between Japanese private and public companies in an overseas acquisition with Japanese media reporting the purchase could prove to be a template for future purchases.
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Manila Water's investment in UUA has boosted its price in the Philippine Stock Exchange on the past few weeks. We are hoping that in the near months it will further go up amidst the Greece & European debt crisis which pulls down most of the markets last week.
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