Higher bid in offing for AWG

Higher bid in offing for AWG

Anglian Water's parent group turned down a £900m offer

An investment bank has again flagged up its interest in taking over the parent company of Anglian Water.

The German private equity group WestLB is considering a higher offer for the water group AWG, based in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

Besides Anglian Water, the company carries out a range of services for sectors such as telecommunications, gas and water.

West LB has set out six areas it wants to discuss with AWG before a formal offer is made.

These include the level of pensions liabilities and debt levels at the water business.

Competition authorities

The new offer is thought to be considerably higher than the previous one of £900m, or just over £5 a share.

WestLB said it was taking steps to dispose of its interests in Mid Kent Water and was confident this would remove the risk of having an offer referred to competition authorities.

AWG said arrangements were agreed this week for its legal advisers to discuss this claim with the Office of Fair Trade "as soon as possible".

Last month AWG parted company with chief executive Chris Mellor after the board called for new leadership to take the business forward.