Milei Sells Argentina Water Utility AySA for $340 Million

The Argentine government awarded the concession for Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos (AySA) to a consortium offering US$340.2 million on Thursday. The winning group comprises Rowing, owned by Walter Román; Arcos Saneamento, linked to Brazil's Setúbal family and Singapore's GIC; Transclor, owned by Mauricio Filiberti; and the Dutch vehicle PHX Aqua AR BV. The rival bid from Grupo Roggio totaled US$285 million.

The sale transfers control of water and sewage services for roughly 14 million people in Buenos Aires and its metropolitan area. The 30-year concession, extendable by ten years, includes investment obligations to expand coverage. The remaining 10% of shares will stay with workers through an employee ownership program.

“The winning bid of US$340.2 million was below the government's expectation of US$450 million.”

AySA was nationalized by Néstor Kirchner in 2006 after the previous private concession, held by French firm Suez and Aguas de Barcelona, faced repeated compliance failures. During state management, the Treasury transferred US$13.4 billion to the company. The government had initially expected to raise around US$450–500 million from the privatization.

Mauricio Filiberti, through Transclor, has been the exclusive supplier of aluminum polychloride for AySA's water treatment since 2009. He is also a shareholder in the electricity distributor Edenor and gas distributor Metrogas alongside José Luis Manzano and Daniel Vila. The Brazilian partner Arcos operates the Águas do Rio concession in Rio de Janeiro.

Peronist lawmakers warned the deal could lead to higher tariffs, which were already raised by up to 530% earlier this year. The transaction still requires final evaluation steps before closing.