BUSINESS TYCOON Manny V. Pangilinan doesn’t seem to be bothered with the problems hounding Villar-owned PrimeWater Infrastructure Corporation, even as he expressed interest in acquiring a company facing a barrage of complaints.
According to Maynilad president and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez, the company is more than willing to take over PrimeWater — if former Senate President Manny Villar finally decides to unload the company.
PrimeWater is a subsidiary of Villar’s Prime Asset Ventures Inc.
“It is still part of the water industry. We are a company in the water sector. PrimeWater is also into water so it’s unlikely that we won’t take a look,” Fernandez said.
POLITICAL BAGGAGE
Previously, former senator Cynthia Villar claimed that her husband wants to dispose of PrimeWater, which she claimed is being used against them in politics.
“Hindi naman malaki ang binabayad sa amin diyan. In fact, gusto nga ni Manny Villar, i-dispose na yang PrimeWater kasi ginagamit lang sa panira sa amin, sa aming pulitika, hindi naman kami kumikita ng malaki diyan,’ the former senator was quoted as saying.
PrimeWater, which faced complaints from consumers about its water services, serves over 1.7 million households and treats more than 500 million liters of water daily.
Its service coverage spans from Tuguegarao in Cagayan Province, through Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, the Visayas and extends all the way to Davao City in Mindanao.
EYEING EXPANSION
Maynilad, the concessionaire of the government in providing water services in the West Zone of Metro Manila, is jointly owned by Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), DMCI Holdings of the Consunji family and Marubeni Corp. of Japan.
MPIC, which owns 53 percent of the water utility firm, earlier hinted that Maynilad would conduct an initial public offering next month.
“There is interest (in PrimeWater) because they are really a dominant player. They have a lot of different buckets because they are very extensive outside Metro Manila,”BDO Capital & Investment Corp. president Eduardo Francisco said.
“So they’re a good asset. I guess the question there is the valuation,” he said.