Southern water sold in £4bn deal

A British utility company responsible for supplying water to more than two million people was sold today in a deal valuing the business at £4.2bn (€5.9bn).

Southern Water, which provides services across Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, is to be bought by a consortium led by investment bank JP Morgan.

As well as a rare piece of merger and acquisition activity following the credit squeeze, the value of today’s agreement with Royal Bank of Scotland’s private equity arm could ignite interest in other listed water companies.