Maverick Water Group
PE-OWNED
Acquired by Apollo Global
What PE Will Likely Do
Deferred maintenance on water treatment plants, pumping stations, and pipeline networks leading to more frequent boil water notices and service interruptions
Reduced water quality testing frequency and laboratory staff cuts, resulting in slower detection of contamination events
Delayed replacement of aging pipes and infrastructure, increasing main breaks and brown water incidents for residential customers
Staff reductions in customer service and emergency response teams, extending outage restoration times from hours to days
Price increases of 15-40% within 24 months as Apollo seeks to extract returns, particularly in markets with limited municipal alternatives
Expected Timeline
“0 to 6 months months”
Apollo announces 'operational excellence initiative' and brings in new management team with cost-cutting mandate; early voluntary buyouts offered to senior operations staff with institutional knowledge
“6 to 12 months months”
First wave of layoffs in engineering, maintenance, and customer service departments; maintenance schedules extended from quarterly to annual for non-critical infrastructure; water rate increase requests filed with public utility commissions
“12 to 24 months months”
Noticeable increase in water main breaks and service disruptions; customer complaint backlogs grow; emergency response times degrade; first dividend recapitalization loads additional debt onto Maverick
“24 to 48 months months”
Aging infrastructure failures become chronic in acquired systems; regulatory scrutiny intensifies with consent decrees for water quality violations; Apollo explores strategic alternatives including piecemeal asset sales
Similar Cases
Other companies that followed a similar path after PE acquisition
What You Can Do
Actions
Install whole-house water filtration systems as backup against quality degradation and boil water notices
Document baseline water pressure, quality, and service reliability now to support future regulatory complaints
Monitor local public utility commission filings for rate increase requests and intervene as intervenor if possible
Join or form customer advocacy groups to amplify complaints about service degradation to regulators
Consider backup water storage (rain catchment, stored potable water) for areas with aging infrastructure
Alternatives
Look for family-owned or employee-owned businesses