Manila Water Co. Inc., through its wholly-owned subsidiary Manila Water Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., announced Wednesday it signed a binding term sheet to acquire a 74.85-percent controlling stake in Mexican water utility Concesiones Integrales S.A. de C.V., which operates as Agua de Puebla.
The Filipino water giant is acquiring the stake from Creando Estructuras S.A. de C.V. (56.14 percent) and Group Agua de México S.A. de C.V. (18.71 percent). The move signals Manila Water’s strategic entry into the high-potential Latin American region to leverage its operational expertise.
Agua de Puebla holds a 30-year concession contract, granted in 2014 by Sistema Operador de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado del Municipio de Puebla (SOAPAP), which can be automatically extended up to a maximum total of 60 years.
The company provides public services including drinking water supply, treatment and distribution, drainage, sewage, wastewater treatment and disposal, and related customer services.
In 2024, Agua de Puebla delivered 245 million liters per day of water to over 1.5 million people. The service area includes the City of Puebla, Mexico’s fourth largest city by population, and the surrounding municipalities of Cuautlancingo, San Andrés Cholula, San Pedro Cholula and Amozoc for potable water and sanitation services.
It also serves Tlaltenango, Juan C. Bonilla, Santa Clara Ocoyucan, Xoxtla, and Coronango for sanitation and wastewater services.
The State of Puebla is a prominent cultural and economic center known for its robust industrial sector, including automotive manufacturing and agribusiness, and is home to major international companies like Volkswagen, Audi, Nestle and Mondelez International.
“Our ability to optimize Manila Water’s existing operations through balanced concession management, disciplined cost approach, and portfolio rationalization has shown solid performance in the last few years. Likewise, we hope to be able to bring in unique value and capabilities on the current platform that the existing shareholders have established in Agua de Puebla to further accelerate the development and growth of the company,” said Roberto Locsin, chief operating officer for international business and chief administrative officer of Manila Water.
The transaction is contingent upon the execution of a share purchase agreement and the fulfillment of related conditions precedent. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in the announcement.
, marking its strategic expansion into Latin America and securing operational control to deliver its core expertise.){kind=link}