West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. is among the companies expressing interest in acquiring Villar-owned PrimeWater.
Maynilad president and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez said the company is open to considering PrimeWater, should a potential sale by the Villar Group happens.
‘It is still part of the water industry. We are a company in the water sector. PrimeWater is also into water so it’s unlikely that we won’t take a look,’ Fernandez said.
Former senator Cynthia Villar earlier said that her husband, tycoon Manuel Villar Jr., wants to dispose of PrimeWater since it is only being used against them in politics.
PrimeWater, a subsidiary of Prime Asset Ventures Inc., has earlier faced complaints from consumers about its water services.
The company serves over 1.7 million households and treats more than 500 million liters of water daily.
Its service coverage spans from Tuguegarao in Cagayan Province, through Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, the Visayas and extends all the way to Davao City in Mindanao.
Maynilad, meanwhile, is the concessionaire of the government in providing water services in the West Zone of Metro Manila.
The company, which is slated to conduct an initial public offering next month, is jointly owned by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), DMCI Holdings of the Consunji family and Marubeni Corp. of Japan.
MPIC owns about 53 percent of the water utility firm, while DMCI and Marubeni hold 25 percent and 20 percent , respectively.
‘There is interest (in PrimeWater) because they are really a dominant player. They have a lot of different buckets because they are very extensive outside Metro Manila,’BDO Capital and Investment Corp. president Eduardo Francisco said.
‘So they’re a good asset. I guess the question there is the valuation,’ he said.