Philippine Competition Commission gives go-ahead for Manila Water acquisition

The Philippine Competition Commission has given the go-ahead for the proposed acquisition by Trident Water Company Holdings Inc. of shares in Manila Water Company Inc.

The acquisition by Trident Water, a subsidiary company of Prime Metroline Holdings Inc. (PMHI), will see the company acquire a 51%-voting interest in Manila Water.

The transaction is subject to a Subscription Agreement in February 2020 between PMHI on behalf of Trident Water) and Manila Water, where Trident Water will subscribe to 820,000,000 common shares of stock from the unissued authorized capital stock of Manila Water, subject to certain conditions.

The transaction is also subject to the granting by Philwater Holdings Company Inc. (PHC) in favor of Trident of a proxy coupled with interest over a number of its voting preferred shares in Manila Water to Trident Water, together with its 820,000,000 common shares, to gain a voting interest of 51% in Manila Water.

Trident Water Company Holdings Inc., is a Philippine corporation based in Makati City under parent company Prime Metroline Holdings Inc. The latter is engaged in various businesses including hotels, casinos, and mining firms such as Bloomberry Resorts Corporation, Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc., Apex Mining Co. Inc., Monte Oro Mining Co. Ltd., and Prime Metroline lnfrastructure Holdings Inc.

Manila Water Company Inc., is a Philippine corporation based in Quezon City under the Ayala Group of Companies.

Manila Water holds the exclusive right to provide water services, including water treatment, water distribution, sewerage and sanitation services to the eastern zone of Metro Manila under a Concession Agreement with Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS).

Manila Water also has subsidiaries which provides water services outside of Metro Manila, such as in Laguna, Boracay, Cebu, and Zamboanga.