Thames Water - comment

As the pre-marketing process for the rights issue continues to gather steam, the first ports of call for the company and its advisors at Rothschild & Co. appear to be global investment funds with deep expertise in the infrastructure sector, either existing commitments in the UK and with the ability to deploy £3.3 billion in capital in a single clip. Names that have appeared in the public domain include the Carlyle Group, Brookfield and Global Infrastructure Partners. If there is appetite from these firms, they will be in a strong position to drive terms. The key unknown here is if they will be “qualified buyers” in the eyes of Ofwat who need to approve them, or if they need to be fronted somehow.