State water utility AySA to return to private hands in US$340-million deal

State-owned water and sanitation utility AySA is set to return to private hands after a four-firm consortium submitted a winning bid of US$340.2 million.

The group, linked to businessman Mauricio Filiberti and entrepreneur Walter Román, outbid another consortium led by Roggio SA, which offered US$285 million.

The winning consortium is made up of Rowing SA, Arcos Saneamento e Participações SA, PHX Aqua AR BV and Transclor SA. The four companies submitted a joint bid that passed the technical assessment carried out by the commission overseeing the tender.

AySA provides water and sanitation services to some 14 million people in Buenos Aires City and 26 districts of Buenos Aires Province.

The struggling state firm was one of the first targetted by President Javier Milei’s government for privatisation after the La Libertad Avanza leader took office in December 2023.

The company, formally known as Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos Sociedad Anónima (AySA), was originally concessioned in 1993 to French company Suez and minority partners. It returned to state ownership in 2006 after the government of then-president Néstor Kirchner terminated the contract.

The winning bid places the company’s valuation at US$378 million, below the US$500 million sought by the Economy Ministry.

The consortium brings together local business interests with Brazilian water-sector expertise and foreign capital. It will acquire 90 percent of AySA’s shares, with the remaining 10 percent held by the trade union representing the company’s employees, led by José Luis Lingeri.

The winning bidders will also assume US$70 million in debt owed by the company.

The consortium has appointed Arcos Saneamento e Participações, part of Brazil’s Equipav Group, as its “technical operator.”

Arcos has operated water and sewage services since 2010 and currently serves more than 39 million people across 15 Brazilian states and more than 890 municipalities, with a workforce of 25,000.

The local partners are Rowing, the engineering and construction company associated with Román, and Transclor, owned by Filiberti.

The fourth partner, PHX Aqua AR BV, is a Netherlands-based investment vehicle that acts as the consortium’s financial partner.

‘Administrative dysfunction’

The Milei administration described AySA as a “model of administrative dysfunction” in a statement confirming the deal.

“Between 2006 and 2023, the company received more than US$13.4 billion in transfers from the National Treasury,” the statement said, adding that “nevertheless, one-third of the concession area still lacks access to drinking water and sewage, non-revenue water losses remain at 42 percent, payment arrears have risen from four percent to 16 percent, and operating costs have increased by 80 percent.”

According to the government, the new concessionaire has committed to significant investment in improvements to the water and sewage networks.

“The new concession contract establishes an action plan for the 2027-2031 period worth 2.89 trillion pesos, at December 2025 values and excluding VAT, which must be implemented by the concessionaire,” the statement said.

The overall programme includes approximately 1.13 trillion pesos in infrastructure works, 1.15 trillion pesos in maintenance, 315.761 billion pesos in improvements and 296.166 billion pesos for operations, the government said. The obligations are also tied to specific expansion targets.

The winning consortium issued a statement expressing its “satisfaction at having submitted the best offer.” Its bid was almost 20 percent higher than that of its competitor and included infrastructure commitments, it added.

It confirmed a contractual commitment to invest US$1.94 billion during the first five years of the concession and US$15.04 billion over the full 30-year term of the contract.

– TIMES/AFP/PERFIL