Barbarians at the sluice gate: KKR’s Thames Water quest. US private equity firm is preferred bidder for UK utility trying to avert renationalisation.
KKR’s dealmakers are no strangers to trying to make money from messy situations. Even so, a trip to Thames Water’s sprawling Beckton Sewage Treatment works is not the most inviting assignment. Originally built as part of the Victorian sewage system overseen by Sir Joseph Bazalgette, Beckton is now the biggest waste treatment works in Europe, serving more than 4mn Londoners. It has required extensive upgrades to try to curtail human waste flowing into the river Thames during torrential rain.
