Oct 21): Thames Water Utilities Ltd has officially started a process to raise at least £3.3 billion in equity that it needs to stay afloat.

The process started in the past week, meaning potential investors now have access to a data room that provides sensitive information about the company, according to a person familiar with the plans.

Thames, the UK’s largest water and sewage supplier, only has enough money to last until the end of May. The utility is seen as too big to fail, and without new funds it would likely be temporarily nationalised. Existing investors want to avoid the special administration process because a prolonged period under government control could mean they recover less of the money they lent. Politicians also are not keen to use taxpayer money to bail out the beleaguered company.

A group of Thames Water’s biggest bondholders have been working on a plan for an emergency cash injection to keep the company operating while it puts together a plan to restructure the utility’s debt pile. They signed NDAs earlier this month to access sensitive information. Last week, some holders of Class B securities split off from the wider group to work with separate legal representation.

  - Bloomberg