Research Update: SJW Group Assigned 'A-' Rating, Subsidiary San Jose Water Co. 'A' Ratings Affirmed; Outlooks Stable

SJW Group (SJWG) has closed on its $1.1 billion acquisition of Connecticut-based Connecticut Water Service Inc. (CTWS) after receiving regulatory approvals from the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and the Maine Public Utilities Commission. We assigned our 'A-' rating to SJWG, which reflects higher leverage as a result of the acquisition debt, slightly mitigated by improved business risk as a result of CTWS' additional low-risk utility operations. We have established that there are sufficient measures in place to insulate our rating on San Jose Water Co. from our rating on SJWG. As such, we affirmed our 'A' issuer credit and issue-level ratings on SJWG subsidiary, San Jose Water Co. The outlook on both entities is stable. The stable outlooks reflect

...- SJW Group (SJWG) has closed on its $1.1 billion acquisition of Connecticut-based Connecticut Water Service Inc. (CTWS) after receiving regulatory approvals from the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and the Maine Public Utilities Commission. - We assigned our 'A-' rating to SJWG, which reflects higher leverage as a result of the acquisition debt, slightly mitigated by improved business risk as a result of CTWS' additional low-risk utility operations. - We have established that there are sufficient measures in place to insulate our rating on San Jose Water Co. from our rating on SJWG. As such, we affirmed our 'A' issuer credit and issue-level ratings on SJWG subsidiary, San Jose Water Co. The outlook on both entities is stable. - The stable outlooks reflect our expectation that the company will effectively manage its regulatory risk with the addition of CTWS, providing additional regulatory diversity and significantly increasing its customer base, which we collectively...

Research Update