On 19 September 2014, Algonquin Power & Utilities Corporation of Ontario, Canada announced an agreement with California- based Carlyle Infrastructure to purchase 100% of Park Water Company shares for US$327 million (including assuming US$77 million of debt)– equal to 9.6x 2013 EBITDA. The deal is expected to close by the second half of 2015.
Park Water is comprised of three private water utility companies: Park Water (Los Angeles), Apple Valley Ranchos (Apple Valley, California), and Mountain Water (Missoula, Montana) that serve 74,000 connections in total. Carlyle purchased the water utility group in 2011 for $102.2 million from the Wheeler family.
Algonquin Power is present in the US as an investor-owned utility (IOU) since 2001 when it began acquiring regulated utilities under its combined entity Liberty Utilities. Liberty Utilities provides water services in five states with approximately 95,000 customers.
Bluefield Takeaways
- Algonquin gain entry to largest state market through Park Water, completes multi-utility offering
- Liberty Utilities to navigate eminent domain challenges in Montana, California
- Park Water acquisition positions Liberty among top 10 IOUs, future deals likely smaller
