Overseas interest in largest UK water company

An overseas investment consortium has made an approach to buy Severn Trent water valued at around £5.3bn. The consortium is made up of Canada’s Borealis Infrastructure Management Inc., the Kuwait Investment Office and Universities Superannuation Scheme Ltd.  Reports have claimed the consortium, which is supposedly being advised by Deutsche Bank, is prepared to bid up to £23 a share, valuing Severn Trent at £5.3bn.  The vast resources available from the Kuwait fund, set up to manage the Kuwaiti government’s overseas investment strategy, lend credence to the approach.  In a statement the water company said:  “The board of Severn Trent announces that it has received an approach with a view to making a proposal from a consortium. This may or may not lead to an offer being made for Severn Trent. This approach is at a very early stage, no proposal has been made and there can be no certainty that an offer will be made or as to the terms of any such offer, should one be forthcoming.”  In accordance with stock market rules, the consortium has until June 11 to either announce its intention to make an offer or to clarify it will not proceed with the deal.  Severn Trent is the largest of the 10 regulated water and sewage businesses in the UK.