City of Maricopa officials recently announced that they have decided not to pursue the purchase of a private water company due to a barrage of customer complaints about potential service interruptions and water rate hikes. The city had retained Piper Jaffray, a major investment bank and asset management company, to research the possibility of purchasing Global Water, but the company indicated that they weren’t interested in selling.
The Maricopa Monitor reported that Piper Jaffray had estimated the financial value of Global Water to be in the range of $75 million and $107 million. Global Water officials claim that the actual value of the company is $500 million.
City of Maricopa Mayor Christian Price indicated that the city plans to continue monitoring the performance of Global Water while insisting that the company provide better services. Mayor Price said that the city and Global Water need one another to succeed. “Global doesn’t succeed if Maricopa doesn’t succeed,” the mayor insisted. The mayor also expressed his determination to protect city residents from water rate increases.
Ron Fleming, Globe Water Delivery President and CEO, claimed that he had never spoken with Piper Jaffray representatives. Fleming also stated that the possibility of the city acquiring Global Water had only been briefly discussed during a couple of 20-minute meetings with the city manager. Fleming also insisted that Global Water was not for sale. “There is not one shareholder, person on the board, member of the team or myself who is looking to sell,” Fleming said.
According to Fleming, Global Water considers the city of Maricopa news to be its flagship asset. He is hopeful that the accomplishments of Global Water will ultimately be recognized and appreciated. City officials responded to Fleming’s statements by setting aside its plan to purchase Global Water.
Councilwoman Peggy Chapados said that purchasing Global Water was an impossibility.
She also insisted that the only reason for purchasing Global Water was to lower consumer water rates and improve the quality of services for medication. Chapados said that she was unable to guarantee that either outcome would transpire if the city purchased Global Water.