MVP: PrimeWater buyout under study

As maynilad posts solid Q3 performance

HONG KONG – Business titan and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said his group is in the early stages of exploring the potential acquisition of Villar-owned PrimeWater.

“We signed a non-disclosure agreement with them, and they opened the data room to us about two to three weeks ago,” Pangilinan said.

“I don’t think we finished this first stage analysis of PrimeWater. Probably, it will take us another week to be able to frame an offer to them. So nothing is finalized. We are at the beginning of the process and it’s difficult to predict where we will eventually land,” he added.

Former senator Cynthia Villar earlier said that her husband, tycoon Manuel Villar Jr., wants to dispose of PrimeWater since it is being used against them in politics.

PrimeWater, a subsidiary of Prime Asset Ventures Inc., has  previously faced consumer complaints concerning the quality and reliability of 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 Tuguegarao in Cagayan province, through Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon and the Visayas, extending all the way to Davao City in Mindanao.

“I think they have about 70 to 80 properties all over the Philippines. Some are small, some are big. So we don’t know the approach yet, whether we will bid for only certain of the properties that are large enough to give us profitability or whether they will insist that we acquire the entire thing,” Pangilinan said.

He said there are also debts in PrimeWater, which have not been discussed yet, including how the group would eventually deal with such debts.

“So no valuations indicated by us to them. I think if it works for us, if it’s feasible, commercially feasible for the group, then obviously we will take a look at it more seriously,” he said.

Asked which company would be used as the potential vehicle for the acquisition, Pangilinan said newly listed West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. could be a possibility.

“Maynilad is a good company. It’s a value company, right? But we have to introduce elements of growth into their narrative. And I think certain assets of PrimeWater, the bigger ones principally, should be attractive for Maynilad to acquire and we would encourage them,” he said.

Pangilinan said that the views of DMCI Group and Marubeni, which are MPIC’s partners in Maynilad, would also have to be taken into account in pursuing the PrimeWater acquisition.

“I don’t want to speak for them eventually on what their view is about PrimeWater or, indeed, any ventures outside the West Zone. I think we will know once we make a proposal to them and to the board of Maynilad. It must make commercial sense both to Maynilad and to them as well,” he said.

Maynilad president and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez said that “if it makes commercial sense, our shareholders will be convinced that Maynilad should be able to agree and participate in an expansion like that.”

“As far as PrimeWater is concerned, they are not in talks with us (Maynilad). We are not in talks with them. They are in talks with our shareholders,” Fernandez said.

“Maynilad’s focus is to continue improving our services to our customers within the West Zone concession area. Number two expansion area is we will offer wastewater and sanitation services to our existing customers in the West Zone. The third one is offering our services to the reclamation projects within Manila Bay. The fourth possibility for expansion are the adjacent LGUs in the north in Bulacan and the adjacent LGUs in Cavite, right in our doorsteps,” he said.

Maynilad, which made its stock market debut last week following a successful P34.34-billion initial public offering, reported continued operational improvements and strong progress on its capital expenditure program as of the third quarter, underscoring the company’s stability and ability to deliver consistent results amid broader market volatility.

The company’s core net income rose by 18.1 percent to P11.4 billion in the third quarter, driven by higher revenues and a modest two percent increase in cash operating expenses.

Revenues increased by 9.5 percent to P27.7 billion, reflecting an eight percent tariff increase implemented in January 2025 and the adjustment in the environmental charge from 20 percent to 25 percent.

As of end-September, Maynilad’s non-revenue water level improved to 32.8 percent from 39.3 percent in the same period last year.

Maynilad said  the reduction, equivalent to about 231 million liters of water per day recovered, is comparable to the production capacity of a large water treatment plant.

Fernandez said that  Maynilad is allocating P30 billion for capex next year.

“We continue to meet our service commitments while investing in the infrastructure that will sustain long-term growth. Our operational gains and disciplined execution show that our fundamentals remain sound, and that we are on track with our 2025 operational and financial objectives,” he said.

MVP: PrimeWater buyout under study

Richmond mercurio

As maynilad posts solid Q3 performance

HONG KONG – Business titan and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said his group is in the early stages of exploring the potential acquisition of Villar-owned PrimeWater.

“We signed a non-disclosure agreement with them, and they opened the data room to us about two to three weeks ago,” Pangilinan said.

“I don’t think we finished this first stage analysis of PrimeWater. Probably, it will take us another week to be able to frame an offer to them. So nothing is finalized. We are at the beginning of the process and it’s difficult to predict where we will eventually land,” he added.

Former senator Cynthia Villar earlier said that her husband, tycoon Manuel Villar Jr., wants to dispose of PrimeWater since it is being used against them in politics.

PrimeWater, a subsidiary of Prime Asset Ventures Inc., has  previously faced consumer complaints concerning the quality and reliability of 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 Tuguegarao in Cagayan province, through Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon and the Visayas, extending all the way to Davao City in Mindanao.

“I think they have about 70 to 80 properties all over the Philippines. Some are small, some are big. So we don’t know the approach yet, whether we will bid for only certain of the properties that are large enough to give us profitability or whether they will insist that we acquire the entire thing,” Pangilinan said.

He said there are also debts in PrimeWater, which have not been discussed yet, including how the group would eventually deal with such debts.

“So no valuations indicated by us to them. I think if it works for us, if it’s feasible, commercially feasible for the group, then obviously we will take a look at it more seriously,” he said.

Asked which company would be used as the potential vehicle for the acquisition, Pangilinan said newly listed West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. could be a possibility.

“Maynilad is a good company. It’s a value company, right? But we have to introduce elements of growth into their narrative. And I think certain assets of PrimeWater, the bigger ones principally, should be attractive for Maynilad to acquire and we would encourage them,” he said.

Pangilinan said that the views of DMCI Group and Marubeni, which are MPIC’s partners in Maynilad, would also have to be taken into account in pursuing the PrimeWater acquisition.

“I don’t want to speak for them eventually on what their view is about PrimeWater or, indeed, any ventures outside the West Zone. I think we will know once we make a proposal to them and to the board of Maynilad. It must make commercial sense both to Maynilad and to them as well,” he said.

Maynilad president and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez said that “if it makes commercial sense, our shareholders will be convinced that Maynilad should be able to agree and participate in an expansion like that.”

“As far as PrimeWater is concerned, they are not in talks with us (Maynilad). We are not in talks with them. They are in talks with our shareholders,” Fernandez said.

“Maynilad’s focus is to continue improving our services to our customers within the West Zone concession area. Number two expansion area is we will offer wastewater and sanitation services to our existing customers in the West Zone. The third one is offering our services to the reclamation projects within Manila Bay. The fourth possibility for expansion are the adjacent LGUs in the north in Bulacan and the adjacent LGUs in Cavite, right in our doorsteps,” he said.

Maynilad, which made its stock market debut last week following a successful P34.34-billion initial public offering, reported continued operational improvements and strong progress on its capital expenditure program as of the third quarter, underscoring the company’s stability and ability to deliver consistent results amid broader market volatility.

The company’s core net income rose by 18.1 percent to P11.4 billion in the third quarter, driven by higher revenues and a modest two percent increase in cash operating expenses.

Revenues increased by 9.5 percent to P27.7 billion, reflecting an eight percent tariff increase implemented in January 2025 and the adjustment in the environmental charge from 20 percent to 25 percent.

As of end-September, Maynilad’s non-revenue water level improved to 32.8 percent from 39.3 percent in the same period last year.

Maynilad said  the reduction, equivalent to about 231 million liters of water per day recovered, is comparable to the production capacity of a large water treatment plant.

Fernandez said that  Maynilad is allocating P30 billion for capex next year.

“We continue to meet our service commitments while investing in the infrastructure that will sustain long-term growth. Our operational gains and disciplined execution show that our fundamentals remain sound, and that we are on track with our 2025 operational and financial objectives,” he said.