Thames Water it is true is a piece of choice

Expected of Qatari, but these are the Australian which prevailed at the end of an exhausting tender orchestrated by RWE to get the best price of the sale of its subsidiary, Thames Water. The first British water company was evaluated to 8 billion pounds (11.9 billion euros) by the consortium led by Macquarie, including 3.2 billion debt. The transaction should be concluded early December.

The German energy company, which had acquired Thames Water in 2000 for 4.3 billion, will reach 4.8 billion, an amount exceeding initial expectations, and reach a value of "several hundreds of millions of euros". He immediately assured that it did not contemplate any "major acquisition", but rather "small or medium-sized" operations, while investors fear that the moneys recovered Fund expensive operations. The City bruisse, in particular, rumors of an interest of RWE to Scottish Power.

The Essen Group announced its withdrawal last November next in the water sector. "The sale of Thames Water is a major step forward in the strategy of RWE (...)" "that is to focus on the convergence of European gas and electricity markets," welcomed by Harry Roels, the Dutch head of the group. In may, he had already ceded its industrial services for RWE Solutions to investment fund Advent. And this is the option of a Stock Exchange release finally adopted for the disengagement of its US subsidiary American Water.

With its offer Saturday delivery, Macquarie beat on the wire two consortia, one led by Qatar Investment Authority and UBS, particular favorite, and the other by Terra Firma. This transaction is the largest ever made by the infrastructure fund which had acquired the year last APRR, in association with Eiffage. Macquarie Bank plans to take 11 of Thames Water for 250 million pounds, live alongside funds managed by the Australian Bank and other investors remained anonymous. The financier, in any case, had shown its determination giving early its interest in the company of water South East Water for 665 million pounds, to avoid any risk on the antitrust.

Thames Water, it is true, is a piece of choice. Operating in the South of England, including London, it is the first company of British water, with 8 million consumers in distribution and 13 million to sanitation services. Its turnover reached 1.9 billion pounds last year, for an operating profit of 687 million.

While the British regulated water and energy sectors are the appetites of the investment fund, regular risk-taking enthusiasts, controversy mounted in Britain, where it is estimated that financial get richer on the backs of consumers. "We have made it clear to the candidates for the resumption of Thames Water that, if it appeared that the return on investment was too generous, we reduce", stated to Reuters a representative of the Ofwat, the regulator of the sector of water.

Companies benefit from a guaranteed 5.1 after-tax return taking into account inflation until 2010. The sector faces, however, significant investments aimed at overcoming considerable leakage and install a meter Park is largely missing. Thames Water has thus plans to spend 1.15 billion pounds between 2005 and 2010 to replace some 2,000 kilometres of porous pipe in the British capital.