Latest news with #Australia-headquartered
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Logistics M&As: E2Open Taken Private in $2.1B Deal, UPS Sells Ware2Go to Stord
Supply chain visibility technology provider E2open has been taken private in a $2.1 billion acquisition by logistics software solutions provider WiseTech Global. The sale gives E2open a new home more than a year after the company initiated a strategic review in March 2024, and enables the Australia-headquartered WiseTech to scale its U.S. presence. More from Sourcing Journal US-Based Chinese Logistics Firms Caught Using Counterfeit USPS Labels Canadian Courier Strike Risks Intensify at Canada Post, DHL Express Up Close: In Conversation with Relex Solutions' Dr. Madhav Durbha E2open will join another freight tech business under the WiseTech Global umbrella, CargoWise, which is a logistics operations software primarily used by freight forwarders and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) like Ceva Logistics, Seko Logistics and DHL Global Forwarding. Although WiseTech already has 16,500 customers across CargoWise and its other platforms like multi-modal rail solutions provider Blume Global, the acquisition will add about 5,600 customers to WiseTech's network. The cloud-based E2open platform will also give WiseTech access to more than 500,000 manufacturing, logistics, channel and distribution partners, tracking more than 18 billion transactions every year. With E2open in the fold, WiseTech will have direct connectivity to ocean carriers like Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Maersk and CMA CGM, with the technology tracking 67 million containers annually. Roughly 18.5 percent of global export container bookings are managed through E2open's platforms. The WiseTech team sees the E2open product site as a complement to the wider CargoWise ecosystem, since it includes tools for supply chain planning and trade compliance, among others. 'These product opportunities extend our reach in key adjacent markets such as global trade management and supply chain planning whilst filling in gaps in our own products that would have required substantial investment over time,' said Richard White, founder and executive chair at WiseTech Global, in a Monday morning briefing. 'These extended capabilities will be attractive to existing and new customers alike and allow our combined customer base access to new and expanded capabilities and new geographies and markets.' Andrew Cartledge, interim CEO of WiseTech Global, said there was 'very little overlap' in products between both solutions. WiseTech sees an opportunity to take advantage of the growing need for supply chain and logistics software solutions, citing Gartner data indicating that total spend on these technologies would expand from $28 billion in 2024 to $57 billion in 2025. The deal is expected to be accretive to earnings per share in the first year. For WiseTech, this is the biggest transaction thus far for the company, which has made 55 acquisitions totaling $1.2 billion over the past 10 years, according to the presentation. E2open is no stranger to making deals either, having invested its own $2.7 billion in acquisitions since 2016, including a $1.7 billion acquisition of logistics software company BluJay Solutions. WiseTech is taking on $3 billion in debt to finance the deal, with E2open stockholders set to receive $3.30 per share in cash. The per-share purchase price represents a premium of approximately 28 percent over the company's closing stock price on Friday, the last trading day prior to the Monday announcement, and a premium of approximately 68 percent over the company's closing stock price on April 30, the day prior to media reports regarding WiseTech's evaluation of a potential acquisition of the business. E2open and WiseTech will continue to operate as independent companies until the transaction closes, which is expected in the second half of the 2025 calendar year. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals. WiseTech has already secured the written approval of shareholders representing more than 50 percent of voting rights, the company said. The deal follows another logistics acquisition that caught the industry's attention, with fulfillment services and commerce enablement technology Stord unveiling earlier this month that it acquired warehouse and inventory management solutions provider Ware2Go from UPS. Terms of that deal have not been disclosed, but the announcement came just three days after Stord revealed it raised more than $200 million in combined equity and debt financing at a valuation of $1.5 billion. The acquisition and the funding are unrelated, Stord says. Stord will become a UPS partner as part of the acquisition. Stord is bringing on 21 new fulfillment centers into its network with the Ware2Go deal, amounting to an extra 2.5 million square feet of warehouse space. This expands on Stord's 11 fulfillment nodes across 13 buildings in North America, as well as two locations in the U.K. and one in the Netherlands. Stord also has an expanded network of more than 70 partner warehouses worldwide. The company seeks to power checkout, delivery, fulfillment and returns for growing, high-volume SMBs that want to better compete with online retail giants via its combination of technologies and warehouses. It manages over $6 billion of commerce annually through its fulfillment, warehousing, transportation, and operator-built software suite including OMS, pre- and post-purchase, and WMS platforms. Ware2Go's service offerings include direct-to-consumer shipping, Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) for Amazon sellers and retail-compliant B2B shipping. Stord has sought to expand its own horizons over the past year via acquisitions. The company scooped up Pitney Bowes' e-commerce fulfillment business and freight and logistics platform ProPack in 2024. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This New Beach Landing Vessel Is Being Bought By The Marines
The U.S. Marine Corps is buying a pair of new medium landing craft from Australia-headquartered firm Birdon to help the service continue to refine its new expeditionary and distributed concepts of operations. The purchase of the two Ancillary Surface Craft-Medium (ASC-M) vessels aligns with a 'bridging solution' that the Marines have been working on with the U.S. Navy to pave the way for already much-delayed plans to acquire a fleet of larger Medium Landing Ships. 'The U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL) selected global maritime engineering leader Birdon to design and build two prototype vessels to demonstrate emerging concepts under the Marine Corps' Force Modernization objectives,' according to a press release the company put out yesterday. 'The resultant Birdon Ancillary Surface Craft (ASC) marks a critical step forward in delivering next-generation landing craft solutions to inform future capabilities, tactics, and procedures.' Birdon is set to actually build ASC-Ms in the United States with the help of Louisiana-based C&C Marine and Repair (C&C). Construction of the first of the two landing craft is scheduled to start this summer. Birdon's release says that the ASC-M design, a rendering of which is seen at the top of this story, will be able to carry up to 40 personnel with full combat loads or 54 tons of cargo. The vessels, which have ramps at the front that drop down for loading and unloading, are 150 feet long and 30 feet across, according to a report from WorkBoat. This would put the ASC-Ms in the same rough size-class as various Landing Craft Utility (LCU) types currently in U.S. Navy and U.S. Army service, but with a smaller stated payload capacity. As a comparison, the Navy says the new LCU 1700s that it is in the process of acquiring will be 139 feet long and 31 feet wide, similar to the ASC-M, but also be able to carry up to 350 combat-equipped troops or 170 tons of cargo. The ASC-M does offer significant 'maneuverability, stability, and long-range ocean transit capability,' according to Birdon. 'To ensure safe landings on uncharted beaches, Birdon worked with a specialist sonar company to develop and integrate an advanced forward-looking sonar system, allowing operators to detect obstacles and assess beach gradients well ahead of the vessel,' The vessel is designed to beach and de-beach in gradients significantly shallower than existing landing craft can support, providing enhanced, safe amphibious operations capability.' 'Birdon's ASC design also features a cutting-edge fuel delivery and transfer system that allows for efficient vessel-to-vessel or vessel-to-land fuel transfer, supporting extended operational range and flexibility in challenging environments,' the company's press release adds. The ASC-M rendering shows it armed with at least two remote weapon stations, one at the bow and one at the stern, both of which appear to be armed with a 30mm M230 automatic cannon and a 7.62x51mm M240-series machine gun. The M230 is a more multi-purpose weapon that could offer a degree of self-protection against lightly armored targets and drones. A .50 caliber M2 machine gun is also seen at the stern end on a standard deck mount. Rotating antennas typically associated with navigation radars are seen on top of the pilot house. 'MCWL and Birdon collaborated to balance requirements, operational capabilities, cost, and producibility. The team focused on advanced design concepts to improve production automation, requiring fewer hours to build each craft,' the company's release says. 'The collaboration resulted in moving from concept to an affordable, production-friendly design, ready for construction in less than 12 months. The incorporation of automated production features allows for the rapid scaling of output to meet future demands.' The ASC-M will join a small group of vessels the Marines have already been using to help refine new concepts of operations collectively referred to as Expeditionary Advance Base Operations (EABO). A central component of EABO is being able to rapidly move relatively small formations of Marines between forward operating locations, especially ones situated on far-flung islands in the Pacific. The goal of this so-called 'stand-in force' is to hopefully deter an opponent, but also be in a better and less vulnerable position to act if called upon. Not having to rely on large traditional Navy amphibious warfare ships to conduct these maneuvers in littoral environments, where established port facilities are also likely to be absent, is essential to the EABO concept. Depending on the exact distribution of Marine forces and the distance between operating locations in a particular area, vessels like the ASC-M could be used to move personnel and materiel between sites and/or act as 'connectors' between larger ships and the shore. For years now, the Marines have also been working with the Navy on plans for the latter service to acquire a fleet of at least 18 and up to 35 Medium Landing Ships, or LSMs, to support the EABO construct. However, concerns about the costs of prospective designs and other issues have continually pushed back the LSM program schedule, with the first of those vessels now not set to arrive until the end of the decade at the earliest. So, since at least 2023, the Marines and the Navy have been developing a phased approach for LSM and what is referred to as the Littoral Maneuver Bridging Solution (LMBS). 'LMBS addresses the urgent need for intra-theater mobility and tactical maneuver by leveraging a mix of existing platforms, experimental vessels, and chartered solutions, mitigating the near-term gap in organic littoral mobility and maneuver,' Gen. Eric Smith, Commandant of the Marine Corps, explained just recently in prepared remarks for hearings before the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. 'Expeditionary Fast Transports (T-EPF), Landing Craft Utility (LCU) variants, and Maritime Prepositioning Ships are providing critical operational and tactical support for dispersed units conducting EABO.' 'Experimental and chartered vessels are also being used to refine tactics, techniques, and procedures, providing valuable lessons for the future LSM program,' Smith added. 'While LMBS cannot fully replicate the capabilities of the LSM, it enhances mobility and sustainment, ensuring Stand-in Forces remain agile and combat-ready in contested littoral environments for the near future.' In line with this, in January 2024, the Marines cut a separate deal with Birdon to test and evaluate a heavy landing craft called the H260, based on a design the company had already been working on for the Australian military. 'Looking outwardly similar to many oil and gas offshore support vessels, but with integrated signature reduction features, the 260-foot-long craft features a payload of 440 short tons, deck space of 8,000 sq ft, the ability to accommodate 72 Marines and 26 crew, a range of over 5,000nm, and a draft of only 6.5 feet allowing it to access a far larger proportion of beach and riverine offload locations than similar sized vessels,' the company said in a press release at the time. 'Its inherent robustness and resilience enable the H-260 to adapt to a wide range of mission profiles and sustain multiple deployments. The aft loading and forward enclosed ramps enable rapid load transfer while adding flexibility to cope with a wider range of landing sites.' When it comes to current plans for LSM, in April, the Navy announced its intention to award a sole-source contract to Bollinger Shipyards to build an initial 'Block I' ship. Shortly before leaving the post in January, former Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro had announced that the first LSM would be named USS McClung in honor of 'U.S. Naval Academy graduate and Public Affairs Officer Major Megan M.L. McClung, USMC, who was killed in action while serving in Iraq.' In April, USNI News reported that there had been no change to the naming plan. The Block I LSM will be based on a design that Bollinger had developed for Israel, also known as the Israeli Logistics Support Vessel (ILSV), the first of which were delivered in 2023. The ILSV, which can load and unload personnel and cargo directly from a beach via a ramp at the bow, is reportedly just under 312 feet (95 meters) long, just over 66 feet (20 meters) across, displaces some 2,755 tons empty, and has a total payload capacity of over 2,200 tons. It is said to have a top speed of just over 14 knots and a maximum range with a full load of at least 6,500 nautical miles. The ILSV is notably derived from an open-ocean optimized subclass of the General Frank S. Besson class Logistics Support Vessel (LSV) that VT Halter Marine developed in the 1980s for the U.S. Army, which you can read about in much greater detail here. The Philippine Navy also operates a derivative of that design called the Bacolod City class. Bollinger acquired VT Halter Marine in 2022. It's also worth noting here that the Army has been continually pushing to divest portions of its obscure watercraft fleets in recent years, ostensibly to help free up resources for other priorities. This is despite the benefits that the LSVs, in particular, have to offer, especially in a future conflict in the Pacific, as is now further underscored by the Block I LSM plans. Just this week, Breaking Defense reported that the Army may now be looking to axe its own next-generation Maneuver Support Vessel-Light medium landing craft program, which has suffered delays, as part of a new force-wide restructuring effort. The Navy is also already looking toward a follow-on LSM 'Block Next,' and has moved to acquire the technical data package for the LST-100 landing ship from Dutch shipbuilder Damen as part of that work. The LST-100 is some 328 feet (100 meters) long, around 52.5 feet (16 meters) wide, has a deadweight of up to 1,400 tons, a top speed of 14 knots, and a range in excess of 4,000 nautical miles, according to Damen. The ship, which can load and unload personnel and cargo via clamshell doors in the bow, can also deploy its own smaller landing craft and maneuver other payloads from within its hull ashore with the help of a large crane. It has a flight deck at the stern designed to accommodate an NH-90 or similar-sized helicopter, as well. 'LSM Block I is the mid-term solution to support the Marine Corps' shore-to-shore littoral mobility requirement,' according to Marine Commandant Smith's recent prepared remarks for Congress. 'The final phase, LSM Block Next, will incorporate advanced technologies and lessons learned from LMBS and LSM Block I to further enhance the ship's capabilities.' Overall, the current LSM plans would seem to stand in significant contrast to the urgency in the messaging coming from the Marines and elsewhere in the U.S. military, particularly in the context of concerns about the prospect of a high-end conflict with China before the end of the decade. This all also comes as China's People's Liberation Army is steadily expanding its own amphibious warfare capabilities, which would be especially relevant in a potential military intervention against Taiwan. In addition, the delays and other difficulties the Marines and Navy have faced already in trying to acquire the LSMs underscore larger issues facing the U.S. shipbuilding industry, which is dwarfed by that of China. The U.S. government has been trying to take steps in recent years to bolster America's ability to produce or otherwise acquire naval vessels, as well as commercial ships. When the first Block I LSMs may begin to enter service remains to be seen, but the Marine Corps is pushing ahead with the acquisition of other vessels like the ASC-Ms to help lay the groundwork for when those ships arrive. Contact the author: joe@
CNBC
13-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Investment banks lift China growth outlook after surprise trade deal with U.S.
Financial institutions are rethinking their China calls after a surprise trade truce between Washington and Beijing, raising both the country's growth forecasts as well as stock market outlooks. On Monday, the U.S. and China reached an agreement to temporarily halt the majority of tariffs on each other's products for 90 days. Under the deal, mutual tariffs will be reduced from 125% to just 10%. This marks a significant easing of tensions between the two countries after the tit-for-tat that ensued following U.S. President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs on April 2, which had led to a swath of banks lowering their China growth forecasts. Now, several institutions are revising their China outlooks. UBS said in a note late Monday that China's GDP growth in 2025 could climb to between 3.7% and 4%, up from a previous base case of 3.4%, given how trade war de-escalation might lead to a "smaller shock" to China's economic growth. Morgan Stanley has also raised to its near-term quarterly China GDP forecasts on expectations that companies may try to speed up exports to take advantage of the lower tariffs. "While tariffs remain elevated, the suspension window could lead to front-loaded shipments and production," the investment bank's analysts wrote in a note. China's second-quarter GDP could come in higher than the current estimate of 4.5%, the bank's chief China economist Robin Xing and others wrote in the report. Additionally, Xing and his team now expect third-quarter growth to show temporary resilience, forecasting it to be above 4%. Earlier, Morgan Stanley had said growth could soften around 4%. ANZ Bank now sees potential for China's GDP to come in higher than 4.2% this year, after the Australia-headquartered bank revised its forecast to 4.2% from 4.8% in April. Similarly, Natixis sees the country's GDP growth at 4.5% this year, up from its base case of 4.2% if there are more proactive stimulus and further reduction in tariffs. This comes after the French bank slashed its China GDP forecast to 4.2% from 4.7% in early April. The optimism on growth prospects is improving the outlook for Chinese equities. Nomura has raised China equities to "tactical Overweight," and rotated some funds out of their position in India to China, it said in a note following the trade talks. Citi has raised its target for the Hang Seng Index by 2% to 25,000 by the end of the year, and expects it to hit 26,000 by the first half of 2026. Still, Citi's China equity strategist Pierre Lau said he prefers domestic plays that avoid tariff uncertainties. He has upgraded the consumer sector from neutral to overweight. Lau also highlighted the country's internet and technology sector as promising. "We see attractive risk reward in China stocks with market valuation remaining undemanding," said Maybank's chief investment officer Eddy Loh, who sees opportunities in the communication services and some consumer discretionary sectors. William Ma, chief investment officer of GROW Investment Group, who has typically been bullish on China, believes that the rebound in Chinese markets is a sustained re-rating, especially with the recent Chinese policy easing and consumption stimulus which could offer an extra boost to China's economy and markets. China's CSI 300 was marginally higher Tuesday after rising 1.6% in the previous session. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose nearly 3% Monday, but was down 1.5% Tuesday. Some experts cautioned on not getting too carried away by what may be a tactical bounce in equities. While the U.S.-China trade talks were better than what markets had expected, the arrangement is still temporary and subject to further changes, said Loh. The 90-day tariff reduction and break does not guarantee a deal, especially given the deterioration of mutual trust between the U.S. and China, said Natixis' senior economist Gary Ng. Markets rallied because the trade talk results were a surprise and not priced in, said Eurasia's China director Dan Wang. "This doesn't change the bigger picture. China's stock market still depends on domestic fundamentals, which remain weak," she told CNBC, citing the slump in the property sector and rising local government debt which also makes the sector reliant on state-backed support. Trump, who sees tariffs as central to his political leverage against China, may not keep tariffs low for long, Wang added. "This is a temporary pause, not a breakthrough in the bilateral relationship. A 90-day truce is short in trade diplomacy," she said.
National Post
01-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
AMCS Acquires Selected Interventions, Strengthening Municipal Resource & Recycling Solutions Worldwide
Article content Article content LIMERICK, Ireland — AMCS, the leader in Performance Sustainability, today announced the acquisition of Selected Interventions, global SaaS provider specialised in municipal resource management solutions. This acquisition furthers AMCS's focus on Performance Sustainability by enhancing its ability to optimise operations, improve service delivery, and accelerate the transition to a circular economy for municipalities and resource recovery organizations. Article content Selected Interventions has successfully established a strong customer base across residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal waste collection services. The company's flagship ECHO™ Service Management Framework has become a trusted solution for clients seeking efficient and reliable waste management. Supporting residential waste services for approximately 19 million residents worldwide, ECHO is widely recognized for its flexible and powerful planning, customer engagement, and mobile workforce management capabilities. Article content 'Selected Interventions' and the ECHO solution are a perfect complement to AMCS and our award-winning Performance Sustainability Suite,' said Jimmy Martin, co-founder and CEO of AMCS. 'With Selected Interventions' ECHO solution, service providers streamline data capture, facilitate workflow mobilization, and provide consistent management views. This acquisition enables us to deepen our relationships with our existing shared customers and expand our reach into new markets. Together with our Performance Sustainability Suite, we aim to deliver even greater value to our customers, empowering them to achieve their sustainability goals while driving profitability.' Article content Selected Interventions brings deep expertise in municipal, commercial and residential waste management and recycling through its ECHO framework. This addition reinforces AMCS' solutions for the municipal sector, enabling local governments to operate waste management and recycling programs more efficiently, improving environmental outcomes and enhancing community services. Article content The combined strength of AMCS and Selected Interventions enable all customers to benefit from a broader, more connected suite of solutions that automate key processes — from data capture and contract management to billing, sustainability reporting, and more. Together, municipalities and resource & recycling organizations will benefit from reduced administrative effort, accelerated revenue collection, and improved resource utilization. Article content 'This is an exciting milestone for Selected Interventions,' said Matt Brookes, CEO, Selected Interventions. 'AMCS's global reach and focus on performance sustainability create opportunities to expand the impact of our ECHO framework, helping more municipalities improve service delivery and environmental outcomes.' Article content AMCS also announced the acquisition of Mandalay Technologies, an Australia-headquartered provider of modular cloud-based weighbridge and data management solutions for the waste and resource recovery industry. This acquisition marks a key milestone in AMCS's growth strategy, reaching a combined footprint of over 360 mission-driven team members in the region. This significant presence enables AMCS to continue providing solutions, services, and support that empower its customer base across municipal, commercial, and residential waste management sectors to achieve operational efficiency and environmental responsibility. Article content With a combined 4,000 customers supported by over 1,300 employees, these strategic additions enhance AMCS's position as a trusted partner for municipalities and resource and recycling organisations worldwide. Article content About AMCS Article content At AMCS we are focused on Performance Sustainability – enabling companies and resource-intensive industries to sustain their businesses while demonstrating environmental and social responsibility. Built on decades of experience, our purpose-built software solutions are designed by people who understand your business, providing practical solutions for a wide range of industries including the resource, waste, recycling, transportation, manufacturing, and utilities industries. Article content Backed by EQT Private Equity who took a majority stake in the business in 2024, AMCS is headquartered in Ireland, and with offices in Europe, the USA, and Australia, AMCS is the global market leader with over 1,300 mission-driven team members. The combined expertise of our team allows AMCS to deliver innovative solutions and extensive insight, helping customers to drive growth and achieve lasting success. As a trusted global partner, we work with over 4000 customers in more than 80 countries delivering digital solutions that create meaningful and measurable impact by increasing customer satisfaction, enhancing sustainability, and boosting margins. Article content At AMCS, we're ready to innovate with you – deploying our experts, processes, and technology to drive your business forward and prepare you for success in a more sustainable, net zero carbon future. Learn more at: Article content Selected Interventions is a fast-growing software and services company dedicated to the delivery of highly customised and cost-effective service management solutions to large enterprises across the globe. Article content Selected Interventions helps large enterprises and local governments design, build and operate better services for their customers through the implementation of the unique ECHO™ Service Management Framework software. Operating across the globe from the company's UK base, Selected Interventions works closely with their clients to deliver powerful yet cost effective service management solutions to transform their productivity, efficacy and efficiency. ECHO supports residential waste services to approximately 19 million residents worldwide. Article content The company builds and implements technology solutions to improve clients' productivity, efficacy and efficiency and meet some of the toughest contractual SLAs in the world. Selected Interventions is dedicated to maximizing differentiation and competitiveness, making significant investments in its people and product research and development to enhance the company's solution offerings and capabilities. We actively seek the very best talent to acquire and retain the specialised skills we need to be relevant to our clients' changing needs. Our success is a testament to our total commitment to our clients; a commitment that is evident in our attitude to partnership, people and product. Learn more at: Article content Article content Contacts Article content Article content Article content
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Macquarie ‘very proud' of Thames Water ownership despite loading it with debt
The investment bank that sold Thames Water in 2017 after loading the company with debt has said that it is 'very proud' of its record, even as the water utility teeters on the verge of collapse. Australia-headquartered Macquarie led a consortium that owned Thames Water from 2006 until 2017. Macquarie has been criticised by some politicians and analysts for its control of the business, accusing the bank of setting it on course for financial collapse. Thames Water supplies water and sewerage services to 16 million customers in London and south-east England. However, it has reached the edge of collapse after debts rose to near £20bn, and it last month won court approval for £3bn in emergency funding. Related: While Starmer's hand was forced on British Steel, it's time to forge ahead with more nationalisations | Owen Jones Macquarie's critics argue that the investment bank set Thames Water on the course to ruin. Debt at the utility rose from £3.4bn when Macquarie bought in to £10.8bn when it sold its last stake in 2017. At the same time, Macquarie and other investors received dividends worth £2.8bn. Ben Way, the group head of Macquarie Asset Management, last month told investors on a call that Thames Water had improved under its ownership. 'We're actually proud, very proud of our ownership of Thames Water,' Way said. 'It was a much better business, imperfect, but much better business after our stewardship, and we can't talk about what happened subsequently.' Way, who has worked for Macquarie since 2006, denied any link between Thames Water's more recent financial struggles and the bank's ownership, according to a transcript hosted by the data company AlphaSense. The Financial Times first reported on the comments. 'So imagine being blamed for a house that you own seven years ago when the roof leaked,' he said. 'It is quite strange.' Despite the £3bn debt package, Thames Water still has to secure longer-term equity investment in order to fund upgrades to sewer and water treatment works after decades of underinvestment. Thames has chosen KKR, a US private equity investor, as its 'preferred partner'. The New York-based company is expected to acquire a stake in Thames worth £4bn. Macquarie is now the biggest shareholder in Southern Water, another utility under financial pressure. Way said Macquarie had not faced a backlash from government over its record on Thames. 'What I would say is that Thames Water is a very good example of ability to have the courage of your convictions and look beyond the media drama or noise,' Way said. 'Because the fact of the matter is, no regulator in the UK in the last 10 years has looked at Macquarie other than as a very positive owner of assets.' Sign in to access your portfolio
