An industry insider familiar with the matter said the discussions involve PrimeWater Infrastructure, the country’s third-largest water utility, which Co earlier agreed to purchase from tycoon Manuel Villar Jr.
Co is said to be open to combining operational know-how and capital to take over PrimeWater, which serves around 1.7 million households.
Big picture
Outside his core retail businesses such as Puregold supermarkets and liquor distribution, Co has steadily built a modest yet meaningful presence in the power and water utilities space.
According to a report by Rappler, he owns Pamana Water Corp., which operates around 15 branches serving select areas in Pangasinan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Laguna, and Pagadian City.
Since the companies are private, no deal value has been disclosed, although a source told InsiderPH that Villar sold the firm for about P30 billion, including debt.
Tiu’s group is expanding rapidly
Tubig Pilipinas, a unit of the Pure Energy Group, serves Cavite, Pangasinan, Negros Occidental, Isabela, Camarines Sur, Samar, and Nueva Ecija.
It also sealed a joint venture with tycoon Enrique Razon Jr.’s Manila Water Co. in 2017, specifically covering Malasiqui, Calbayog City, and San Jose City.
Tubig Pilipinas is poised to go public via a backdoor listing deal using Tiu’s Coal Asia Holdings (COAL).
“[The] Tubig backdoor via COAL could provide investors with some indirect exposure to PrimeWater,” the insider said.
Tiu also controls two other publicly traded firms: NexGen Energy and Repower Energy Development.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
