tainted-water scandal, anticipating that Canadian towns and cities would have no choice but to upgrade their water systems. He was right.City-based water technology and services company, which has been publicly traded since its inception, is better off going private under new ownership.
H2O Innovation announced last week that it has agreed to be bought by New York City private equity company Ember Infrastructure Management for $4.25 a share in cash in a transaction valuing the company at $395-million on an equity basis. The deal is just the latest by a private equity group for a Quebec company as U.S. investment-management firms continue to look for attractive takeovers in Canada’s second-largest province.
“We’ve committed substantial resources to identifying exceptional companies in the water sector,” Ember Infrastructure founder Elena Savostianova said via e-mail, adding that the H2O team has a culture of innovation and a commitment to their customers and communities. Ember’s takeover offer represented a 68-per-cent premium to H2O′s share price when the deal was announced and includes commitments to keep the existing management team in place and maintain its headquarters in Quebec. H2O has 30 days to try to find a better offer, which Ember has the right to match.