Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) has reached an agreement for the acquisition of 25% of shares in South Staffordshire Plc, a regulated water supply company with operations in the regions of South Staffordshire and Cambridge, UK, from KKR, a leading global investment firm. The acquisition relates to both the regulated and non-regulated water services provided by South Staffordshire Plc.

Through the dispatch of Director and staff to South Staffordshire, MC will draw on the experiences gained from its existing water-related businesses and its relationships with affiliates and partners to contribute to improving the services provided by South Staffordshire as well as to cost reduction and business development.

South Staffordshire supplies water to the South Staffordshire and Cambridge regions, serving 1.6 million customers across an area of approximately 2,663 square kilometers. The company owns 56 water intakes, 26 water treatment plants, 81 pumping facilities and a network of pipes covering over 9,100 kilometers. South Staffordshire undertakes operations and maintenance of its assets including water intake, transmission, treatment and distribution, as well as capital investment and customer management and service. South Staffordshire is regarded as one of the UK's leading water providers in terms of its quality of services.

In addition, South Staffordshire provides technical services such as repair of water equipment and pipelines as well as customer services such as call centers and sale of customer management software through more than 30 service hubs in the UK. MC will seek to leverage South Staffordshire's business base to promote advanced water technologies and services offered by MC's water-industry affiliates and partners from Japan across the UK.

MC has built up a wealth of experience in the water sector in Japan, Australia, the Philippines and Chile as well as in other countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The acquisition of a stake in South Staffordshire will allow MC to reinforce its water and sewage business by accumulating experiences and know-how in the UK, where water sector privatization is regarded globally as a model of success.

Company Outlines

Mitsubishi Corporation

(1) Headquarters: 6-1, Marunouchi 2-Chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-8086, Japan

(2) Established: April 1954

(3) Capital: 204.4 billion yen (as of March 31, 2015)

(4) No. of Employees: 71,994 (consolidated, as of March 31, 2015)

(5) Representative: Ken Kobayashi, President and CEO

KKR

(1) Headquarters: Manhattan, New York, USA

(2) Founded: 1976

(3) Total Assets Under Management: 98.7 billion USD (as of September 30, 2015)

(4) No. of Employees: Over 600 investment professionals

(5) Representatives: Henry Kravis, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO, George R Roberts, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO

South Staffordshire Plc

(1) Headquarters: Walsall, West Midlands, UK

(2) Established: 2004 (South Staffordshire Water was formed in 1853, as then privately-owned South Staffordshire Waterworks Company)

(3) Capital: 5 million GBP (as of 31st March, 2015)

(4) Total Assets: 509 million GBP (as of 31st March, 2015)

(5) Turnover: 239 million GBP (FY ended 31st March, 2015)

(6) Net Profit 28 million GBP (FY ended 31st March, 2015)

(7) No. of Employees: 2,493 (average for 2014/15)

(8) Representative: Adrian Page, Group CEO

Water Supply Areas

Mitsubishi Corporation issued this content on 03 February 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 12 February 2016 15:17:15 UTC

Original Document: http://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/pr/archive/2016/html/0000029561.html