Six million users kept in the dark: The information vacuum behind PrimeWater trading

When a multinational water utility takes over the water supply for six million people without any public financial disclosures, silence itself becomes the biggest warning sign.

Who is the buyer? No one knows

The acquisition of PrimeWater by Crystal Bridges is technically compliant — Malaysian Securities Commission regulations indeed do not require private investment vehicles to disclose financial statements. But this legal “feasibility” masks a deeper issue: when such a large public utility changes hands, the buyer’s financial strength and transparency are no longer just internal matters.

According to PrimeWater’s latest 2024 audited financial statements, it is a true cash-generating machine — total assets amount to ₱42.37 billion, net income ₱1.35 billion, operating cash flow ₱6.08 billion. With such a scale of assets changing hands, the new owner’s identity cannot be an “insignificant detail.”

The core issue is: PrimeWater’s asset structure is extremely dependent on specific assumptions. Service franchise assets account for over 60% of total assets, and these rights are amortized gradually over 25 years. The value of this core asset is entirely based on several critical accounting assumptions — stable financing, continued support from lenders, regulatory confidence. Once doubts arise about the new owner’s financial strength, these assumptions become shaky.

Six million people are “losing out invisibly”

Let the numbers speak. Villar family initially claimed publicly that PrimeWater “was not profitable,” but the books tell a different story:

• Profits have been steadily rising since 2022
• Net profit in 2024 has reached ₱1.35 billion
• Actual cash generated from operations exceeds ₱6 billion annually, of which ₱5.85 billion is reinvested into infrastructure

This is not paper profit. This is real cash flow.

So why did Villar family sell? — Because they lost trust. The issues with main pipelines in San Jose del Monte and other areas are not fabricated. The August 2023 report by Thomson Reuters Foundation, ongoing investigations by Rappler journalists, and mountains of complaints from local water committees all point to the same reality: users are paying, but water is not reliably reaching them.

When a utility’s operations fall into a dilemma of “service failure first, trust breakdown later,” for any new owner, this has become an irreversible turning point. Villar did not exit because of losses, but because they lost political and public capital.

The “invisibility” of the new owner becomes a new problem

Crystal Bridges’ financial status is a black box to the public. No publicly available audit reports, no verifiable capital records, no transparent proof of financing capability.

In the utility sector, this lack of transparency is not only irrational but also a signal of systemic risk. Imagine: when PrimeWater needs to finance large-scale infrastructure upgrades, how will lenders assess the parent company? When regulators need to ensure the new owner can handle emergencies, what do they rely on to make decisions? The answer is — they are forced to rely on guesses and trust.

PrimeWater’s 2024 financial statements also reveal another layer of complexity: the accounting treatment shifted from revaluation to cost method, resulting in a write-down of assets by ₱1.3 billion in retrospective adjustments. While technically this increases conservatism, it also shows how sensitive these financial statements are to accounting assumptions. When the financial health of the new owner itself is unknown, the stability of these assumptions becomes a problem.

Lucio Co’s “historical baggage”

People cannot ignore the name behind the new owner. Over the past 20 years, Lucio Co’s name has repeatedly appeared in smuggling, tax disputes, and customs investigations. Although he has not been convicted, this history means any new project he undertakes will carry additional credibility costs.

This is not to say he is guilty. But when a person with a reputation already under suspicion takes over a utility that has already lost user trust, the market and regulators have reason to set higher transparency standards. History does not convict, but it triggers stricter scrutiny.

Risks in waiting

The current situation is quite dangerous:

A utility that has already lost credibility due to service failures is now taken over by a new owner with opaque financials and a controversial background. Six million users do not care about legal clauses; they care about bills and faucets.

PrimeWater’s profit growth and ample cash flow prove this is not a poorly managed business — quite the opposite. It shows that the problem is not the business model but execution and transparency. If the new owner wants to rebuild trust, relying solely on “technical compliance” in finance is not enough.

Utilities cannot operate like side businesses or accounting tools. They require: sustained patience, complete visibility, and user-centered execution.

Until Crystal Bridges’ financial strength is clearly verified, and until water supply stability is continuously improved, this transaction remains a suspense for six million users — not a solution.