Aqua America Announces $750 Mln Investment By CPPIB - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Aqua America Inc. (WTR), the second-largest publicly traded water and wastewater utility based in the U.S., will receive about $750 million in investment by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). The investment marks an important step in obtaining permanent financing for Aqua's pending acquisition of Peoples Natural Gas.

The investment is expected to close concurrently with, and contingent upon, the Peoples acquisition. Through the investment, CPPIB will acquire about 21.7 million newly issued shares of Aqua's common stock.

On October 23, 2018, Aqua agreed to acquire Peoples to create a new utility infrastructure company positioned to have a powerful impact on improving infrastructure reliability, quality of life and economic prosperity in the areas it serves.

CPPIB's investment in Aqua is a contribution toward closing Aqua's acquisition of Peoples and Aqua well as it looks ahead to complete the permanent financing for the Peoples acquisition.

The all-cash Peoples acquisition reflects an enterprise value of $4.275 billion, including the assumption of about $1.3 billion of debt. The transaction will be financed through an appropriate mix of equity and debt, which will support a strong balance sheet and continued investment-grade credit ratings for the combined business.

Following the transaction's closing, one CPPIB-designated nominee, to be named at a later date, will be appointed to Aqua's board of directors.