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Takeover bids for water companies are expected to be made after Ofwat publishes its final determinations, according to analysts.
Analysts have told Utility Week that once the PR14 final determinations have been published in December, attention is likely to turn back towards mergers and acquisitions (M and A).
Severn Trent Water was subject of a failed £5.3 billion takeover bid by LongRiver consortium in June last year, but there is a belief that there will be more takeover bids in the sector next year.
Stephen Hunt, analyst at UBS added: “Now that we are starting to get regulatory clarity, especially once the final determinations are put behind us, then clearly M and A is very much back on the cards.”
Angelos Anastasiou, utilities analyst at Whitman-Howard, said on Friday: “There is some takeover potential in the water sector in the medium term”.
In April last year, Cathryn Ross opened the door to potential mergers when she said that “changes to the industry structure may be appropriate”.
She added: “I would be surprised if 18 vertically integrated companies was the most appropriate structure.”
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