American Water & Essential Utilities to Merge in $63B ‘Mega-Deal’ – What Investors Need to Know
In-Depth Report: On Oct. 26, 2025, American Water Works Co. (AWK) and Essential Utilities, Inc. (WTRG) surprised the utilities sector by announcing a definitive all-stock merger agreement businesswire.com investing.com. The companies said the combination creates the largest regulated water/wastewater utility in the U.S., serving roughly 14 million people in 14 states ts2.tech. According to the companies, shareholders of each firm unanimously approved the deal, which carries a pro forma market value of about $40 billion (about $63 billion including debt) marketscreener.com nasdaq.com. American Water shareholders will receive 0.305 shares for each Essential share, equating to a ~10% premium to WTRG’s recent trading
