Just one year after establishing a foothold in the water and wastewater utility sector, NextEra’s leadership team has pulled the plug on its brief venture into water. On 28 March 2023, NextEra Water filed a notice of intent to determine the fair market value of its Texas water and wastewater systems. In doing so, it is proposing to divest the 4,008 connections to rival SouthWest Water Company. NextEra’s Texas assets were acquired from Quadvest LLC as recently as June 2022.
Weeks earlier, on 9 March 2023, Pennsylvania’s Towamencin Township Board of Supervisors announced NextEra Water’s plan to flip the recently agreed-upon purchase of the community’s 7,500 connection wastewater system to previously competing bidder Pennsylvania American Water for US$104 million. This price represents the average of the two companies’ initial bids for the system.
In this Research Note:
- Confluence of events upending NextEra’s water strategy
- Pennsylvania M&A comes with public pushback
- Established players American Water and SouthWest jump at divested assets
- Utilities’ mounting investment needs likely to invite more private investors
