Pimco reportedly offloads majority of Thames Water debt

(Sharecast News) - Bond fund manager Pimco has reportedly offloaded hundreds of millions of pounds of Thames Water debt as the beleaguered utility tries to avert temporary nationalisation by securing a private sector rescue deal. Pimco has in recent weeks reduced its exposure to Thames Water's massive debt mountain by selling the majority of its holdings to fellow investors including Apollo Global Management, Elliott Advisors and Silver Point Capital, Sky News reported citing unnamed sources.

A source close to the fund manager said it had taken advantage of a recent increase in the price of Thames Water bonds amid growing optimism that the company's Class A creditors will be able to reach a deal with regulators and the government to keep it in private ownership.

Last month, Sky News reported that the group of lenders which want to take control of the utility pledged to the industry regulator that they would not offload the company before the end of the decade. The Class A creditor group accounts for the bulk of the company's £20bn debt pile.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com