Click here for printer friendly page

Terra Firma nears first deal as an independent with UK sewage bid

Terra Firma, the pan-European buy-out firm founded by Guy Hands, is working towards completing its first deal with a bid to buy the UK sewage business of utilities firm Kelda.

It is in talks to acquire 46 per cent of the Waste Recycling Group at price of 285 pence per share, valuing the company at around £340m.

Kelda said in a statement that it reached an exclusivity agreement with Terra Firma about WRG that would preclude it from soliciting any other bids for the business for the next eight weeks.

Terra Firma was spun out of Japanese bank Nomura by Hands and is currently trying to raise its first fund. The initial target was E3bn but Hands said earlier this week that he would be pleased with E2bn in the present environment. It is understood to have secured commitments of around E1.5bn so far.

The firm recently failed in its bid to buy a massive portfolio of public housing in Cologne when the local political authorities voted against the transaction.

Copyright © 2003 AltAssets