David Arison

Jan 29, 2019

  International private equity group Bridgepoint has acquired Miya from the business arm of Arison Group for an undisclosed sum. Miya is the leading private operator of water distribution in Portugal, and a global provider of comprehensive integrated water efficiency solutions to public and private utilities. Miya was created and founded by Shari Arison in 2008 as aprivate subsidiary of Arison Investments to realise the value inthe efficient management of the world's fresh water resources. Thecompany provides end-to-end integrated solutions for urban waterinfrastructure networks on a global basis, specialising in complex,turnaround water efficiency projects. Indaqua, a subsidiary of the group, is Portugal's leadingprivate water and wastewater operator. It serves seven utilities inPortugal's north-west, covering an area of 1,000 square kilometreswith a distribution network reaching more than 600,000 residents.Since acquiring the business in 2016, Miya has successfully appliedits world-class efficiency practices to improve Indaqua'soperations and maximise the efficiency of water systems. Shari Arison, owner of the Arison Group and founder andinitiator of Miya, said: "Miya was created from deep within me,with the vision of bringing pure water to people around the world.What is most important to me is that this vision continues. Ibelieve that Bridgepoint together with the management team andemployees of Miya will continue this vision. I wish them all thebest and continued success in bringing pure fresh water forall." Arison will continue to invest in companies that bring similaradded value to people. Managed by CEO Amit Horman and his team, the company employsover 600 staff and has dual headquarters in Madrid and Oporto. Hesaid: "On behalf of Miya management and employees, I would like tothank Shari Arison, David Arison, the Arison family, ArisonInvestments Chairman and CEO Efrat Peled, and the ArisonInvestments team for more than a decade of vision and values-basedleadership. We are proud to serve the Portuguese market, and toexport its talent to other parts of the word. We are thrilled tojoin Bridgepoint as a portfolio company, and believe this is thebeginning of an exciting period of growth. We are completelyaligned in understanding the challenges and opportunities in themarket." Héctor Pérez, a Bridgepoint partner in Madrid, added: "We havebeen impressed with the operational performance led by ArisonInvestments, which Amit and his team have delivered across adiverse set of water infrastructure systems. We are excited topartner with Miya and take forward its values-led vision by furtherdeveloping the company, building on its remarkable efforts to datein contributing to the availability of water resources." "Bridgepoint is one of the longest-established internationalprivate equity houses in Iberia and, following our recentacquisition of Ascenza (Sapec Agro) in Portugal in 2017, thistransaction demonstrates our commitment to investing in businesseswith a successful track record that contribute to thesustainability of natural resources while meeting the demands of agrowing population" he concluded. Miya is the first investment made by Bridgepoint Europe VI, a€5.7 billion middle market buyout fund. Bridgepoint has been advised in this transaction by Citi(corporate finance), PwC Strategy& (commercial), Uría Menéndez (legal), EY(financial, tax & labour), ERM (ESG) and Willis(insurance).