Providing water and wastewater-treatment services is a big business for cities, counties and other local governments. A Middle Georgia company that’s involved in that business tapped Powell Goldstein for advice on the company’s buyout by a French company.
United Water Inc. acquired Utility Service Holding Co. for $220 million. PoGo’s legal team consisted of partners Bill Shearer, Riccarda Heising and Frank Crisafi and associates Amanda Norcross and Toby Butler. PoGo’s Shearer is also involved in another deal in the water utilities space. He is advising wastewater utilities company Global Water Resources Inc. of Phoenix on its plan to hold an initial public offering.
Utility Service, of Perry, provides water tank maintenance to municipal and private water utilities and has operations nationwide. United Water is a unit of Suez Environnement, which in turn is a subsidiary of French energy giant GdF SUEZ Group. GdF SUEZ was created by the $144 billion merger of Gaz de France SA and Suez SA. The government of France owns about 36 percent of GdF SUEZ.