Billionaire Razon Deepens Manila Water Investment, Buys $252 Million Stake From Ayala

Casino-to-port billionaire Enrique Razon Jr is doubling down on his investments in Manila Water with the purchase of an additional 14.5 billion pesos ($252 million) worth of shares in the water utility from Ayala Corp.

Through his privately held investment vehicle, Trident Water, Razon bought an additional 23.6% stake in Manila Water common shares from Ayala Corp for 12.9 billion pesos and will buy 1.6 billion pesos of Manila Water preference shares from Ayala’s Philwater over the next five years, according to Ayala Corp’s regulatory filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange. Trident currently holds about 52% stake in Manila Water, according to the utility company’s website.

“The transactions are aligned with Ayala Corp’s strategy to rationalize its portfolio and raise 50 billion pesos in proceeds,” Ayala Corp said. “With these transactions, the total proceeds raised from Ayala’s portfolio rationalization initiatives will be about 51.5 billion pesos.”

Following the completion of the transaction, Ayala said it will no longer hold common shares in Manila Water, while its 12% economic stake through the preferred shares will drop to zero by 2029 upon full payment by Trident. Ayala Corp—one of the country’s oldest conglomerates with interest in banking, property and telecommunications—has been divesting its stake in Manila Water in recent years.

Razon became the controlling shareholder of the water utility—which supplies water to seven million residents in Metro Manila’s eastern region—in 2021 when Trident bought part of Ayala’s shares. The tycoon—who draws the bulk of his wealth from Philippine port giant International Container Terminal Services Inc and casino operator Bloomberry—has been building up his infrastructure portfolio in recent years.

Through his privately held Prime Capital Infrastructure, Razon is building a dam that could boost Manila Water’s capacity by 30% and is developing new deepwater wells in the Malampaya gas fields in the West Philippine Sea. With a net worth of about $10.3 billion, Razon is among the country’s wealthiest individuals.