What’s the State of Private Participation in Water?

02/13/24 • 31 min

Reese Tisdale is joined by Bluefield Senior Analyst Charlie Suse to discuss recent research on Investor-Owned Utilities in water. Reese and Charlie spell out Bluefield’s definition of “Private Water”, followed by a dive into the market outlook, including: Utility M&A trends, what companies are paying for water systems, the influential players in the private water space, and where the market is heading through M&A, geographic shifts, and policy changes.

Reese also provides some key takeaways from Bluefield’s recently published Europe Municipal Water CAPEX Forecast Report.

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Reese also provides some key takeaways from Bluefield’s recently published Europe Municipal Water CAPEX Forecast Report.

If you enjoy listening to The Future of Water Podcast, please tell a friend or colleague, and if you haven’t already, please click to follow this podcast wherever you listen.

If you’d like to be informed of water market news, trends, perspectives and analysis from Bluefield Research, subscribe to Waterline, our weekly newsletter published each Wednesday.

Related Research & Analysis:

Previous Episode

The Role of 8 Japanese Trading Houses in Water

The eight Japanese trading companies, also known as “sogo shosha”, are Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui Corporation, Hitachi Corporation, Itochu Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, Marubeni Corporation, Toyota Tsusho, and Sojitz Corporation. Together these firms reported nearly US$600 billion in assets under management in 2023.

These companies are global, with positions in key markets geographically, and are a unique group with a number of investments in water. Bluefield President and Podcast Host Reese Tisdale and Bluefield’s Senior Analyst Ethan Edwards discuss three major questions surrounding the role of these companies within water:

How are Japanese trading houses strategically positioned in the global water market, and what factors contribute to their investments in water-related assets?
What role do Japanese trading houses play in driving technological advancements and innovations in water management?
What are the notable collaborations between Japanese trading houses and local or international entities in the water sector?

“These are massive firms, almost battleships of organizations. They’ve been at it for so long that they’ve accumulated a wide network that spans globally. Together, they wield a significant influence across a wide network of industries.”

–Ethan Edwards, Senior Analyst, Bluefield Research

If you enjoy listening to The Future of Water Podcast, please tell a friend or colleague, and if you haven’t already, please click to follow this podcast wherever you listen.

If you’d like to be informed of water market news, trends, perspectives and analysis from Bluefield Research, subscribe to Waterline, our weekly newsletter published each Wednesday.

Related Research & Analysis:

Next Episode

What is Private Equity’s Role in Digital Water?

The global private equity (PE) sector has grown thirteenfold since 2000, wielding increasing influence over critical infrastructure sectors. The proliferation of digital technologies across the water industry has opened new growth avenues for select PE investors.

Reese Tisdale is joined by Bluefield Analyst Christine Ow, to discuss her recent research on the role of PE firms in the digital water segment. Our Bluefield water experts once again take a step back and define “Digital Water”, and then identify some key market trends, including PE investments, key players, and outlook for the rest of 2024.

If you enjoy listening to The Future of Water Podcast, please tell a friend or colleague, and if you haven’t already, please click to follow this podcast wherever you listen.

If you’d like to be informed of water market news, trends, perspectives and analysis from Bluefield Research, subscribe to Waterline, our weekly newsletter published each Wednesday.

Related Research & Analysis: