Lucinda Kemeny, 15 October 2006

The GBP 8bn battle to own Thames Water is expected to end in victory for the Gulf state of Qatar.

Final bids were lodged with adviser Goldman Sachs yesterday morning, with the investment arm of the oilrich state seen as frontrunner to buy Thames from its German owner, RWE.

As well as the Qatar Investment Authority, Guy Hands' Terra Firma and Australia's Macquarie were all expected to bid. It was not known whether Alinta, another Australian fund, was planning to join the list.

Qatar, which is bidding alongside investment bank UBS, was tipped as favourite after comments last week that indicated the consortium would outbid any rivals.

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Posted by pichu at October 15, 2006 11:28 PM