LUCIO L. CO-LED Crystal Bridges Holdings Corp. is about to take full control of Villar-led PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp., allowing the corporate to operate the latter’s entire portfolio across the country.
In a press release on Tuesday, the Villar-led company said it has entered into definitive agreements for the acquisition of 100% of PrimeWater.
PrimeWater didn’t disclose the associated fee of acquisition.
“Upon completion, Crystal Bridges will acquire PrimeWater’s entire portfolio of operations across the Philippines,” the corporate said.
PrimeWater, a subsidiary of Prime Asset Ventures, Inc., serves over 1.7 million households and supplies about 500 million liters of water per day across greater than 100 partnered water districts nationwide.
Its operations span multiple provinces, including Bulacan, Batangas, and Laguna.
The corporate is owned by Manuel Paolo A. Villar, the eldest of the Villar siblings.
Some big corporations, including Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp., had expressed interest to accumulate the water company after billionaire Manuel B. Villar, Jr. said he desired to eliminate PrimeWater, saying the corporate is “getting used against us in politics” amid mounting criticism of its services.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has launched a probe of the water service provider following complaints from its consumers.
The Local Water Utilities Administration, a state-run firm that gives support for water systems in provincial cities and municipalities, began an official investigation into PrimeWater’s 73 three way partnership agreements with local water districts nationwide.
Asked to comment, China Bank Capital Corp. Managing Director Juan Paolo E. Colet said that the tycoon’s takeover of the water utility would work on account of his resources and network.
“Lucio Co is making an enormous bet on the water utility business. It marks a daring diversification of his business empire. He actually has the resources and relationships to make this investment work,” he told BusinessWorld.
Mr. Co is the chairman of conglomerate Cosco Capital, Inc., a significant holding company known for its diverse portfolio in retail, real estate, liquor distribution, and oil and mining. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera