Carlyle Group tries to buy Montana water company, refuses to give details

[Newsjock]

http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_7dd77e84-bcc2-11e0-8239-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=story

An investment group that wants to buy Missoula's privately owned city water system apparently has future plans to sell the system after building up its value - and that could spell trouble for local ratepayers, an expert for a consumer-advocate office said.

John Wilson, a consultant often hired by the Montana Consumer Counsel, also said a memo from the investment firm, The Carlyle Group, casts doubt on earlier indications that the city of Missoula would get first shot at buying Mountain Water Co. in the future.

... Carlyle's exit strategy also lists an annual return expected by the firm - an amount also blacked out in Wilson's testimony, but characterized by Wilson as "a very large annual return." Achieving that return could be harmful for Mountain Water customers, Wilson said, because it might mean unduly raising water rates or making large equity payouts from the company's coffers.

However, Wilson said he can't be sure of what The Carlyle Group has in mind because it has refused to provide to regulators or the Consumer Counsel its detailed analysis and expected financial results from the purchase.

[DefenseLawyer]

1. I thought maybe the Carlyle Group tried to buy Montana.

That wouldn't surprise me either.

[midnight]

2. It is not in the publics best interest....

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. Carlyle is undoubtedly concerned about the rate payers & probably doing this

as a benevolent jesture.

[gateley]

4. Has Schweitzer weighed in on this? Not sure he could do anything, though. nt

[ProfessionalLeftist]

5. Carlyle Group & China will be buying all public services & infrastructure, probably

various factions of Koch Industries, et al. may go on a shopping spree too. You know, privatize everything. It's the Tealiban way.

[glinda]

6. %100 true. And water is the new oil btw.