This is the first time that a merger between two licensed water companies in England and Wales has been cleared unconditionally (without the need for any undertakings or remedies) under the Enterprise Act 2002.
"Regulation of the water sector is going through an important period of change and obtaining this unconditional clearance could set the tone for future developments. The recent Water Bill envisages a major reform of the special UK water merger control procedure, which may lead to further consolidation in the sector. Progress of the Bill will be closely monitored by water companies, investors and other stakeholders." said Freshfields competition partner James Aitken.
South Staffordshire Plc also owns South Staffordshire Water Plc, another water company, and is itself a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alinda Capital Partners LLC.
The Freshfields team was led by competition and regulatory partners David Aitman and James Aitken, assisted by associates Satyen Dhana, Alessandro Turati and Richard Romney. Luis Correia, Alan Horncastle and Giordano Colarullo from Oxera acted as expert economic advisers to South Staffordshire Water.
