Commodities
Thames Water Gets £5 Billion Takeover Bid From Covalis
- Infrastructure investor would bring France’s Suez on board
- Bid involves proposal to review Thames Water’s business
A Thames Water van in London.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Infrastructure investor Covalis Capital has submitted a £5 billion ($6.4 billion) bid to take over struggling UK water company Thames Water, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the beleaguered utility races to raise new funding before it runs out of cash.
To finance the proposal, Covalis would provide around £1 billion of funds up front before raising another £4 billion from asset sales, refinancing and the listing, the person said. It would also bring on board French water management company Suez as an operating partner.