The magic behind the mega deal between Bryn-Mawr based Aqua America and Peoples

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Aqua Pennsylvania hired Terrence Roman as area director of its Eastern Operations, which includes its service areas in Montgomery County.(MONTCO.Today file photo)

The hot mega deal between Aqua America and Peoples has been simmering for quite some time.

Aqua CEO Chris Franklin had come to know Steelriver Infrastructure Partners, Peoples’ owners, over the past several years. Franklin had also formed a relationship with Peoples CEO Morgan O’Brien talking about mainly operational issues, as both Aqua and Peoples are big players in the regulated utility business in Pennsylvania. Both are more than 130 years old. The companies put hundreds of miles of pipe into the ground every year, writes Paul J. Gough for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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Negotiations for Aqua to acquire Peoples — which was announced Tuesday — sped up over the summer, aided by the fact that Steelriver agreed to what Franklin called a bilateral negotiation instead of an auction process.

Peoples is privately held, but according to information released Tuesday, will have an estimated earnings (EBITDA) of $289 million and $3.4 billion in assets in 2019. Its rate base of $2.2 billion is expected to grow between 8 percent and 10 percent between 2019 and 2021. Peoples CEO Morgan O’Brien said the company has been growth-oriented during his tenure, moving from 300,000 customers to 740,000 customers through acquisitions and increasing employees from 500 to 1,500.

To read the complete story click here.

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