Global Water Resources Acquires Francesca Water Company in Pima County, Arizona


PHOENIX, Nov. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: GWRS), (TSX: GWR), a pure-play water resource management company, has acquired Francesca Water Company, a small water utility located in the southwest area of Tucson, Arizona.

Francesca adds 115 active water connections, bringing Global Water’s total active connections to 47,769. The new connections are adjacent to the service area of Global Water’s recently acquired Mirabell Water Company utility.

“Francesca’s close proximity to Mirabell makes it a logical extension of our regional footprint,” stated Global Water Resources president and CEO, Ron Fleming. “The acquisition will allow all stakeholders involved to benefit from our proactive approach to utility management that includes efficiency upgrades, automation, and our award-winning implementation of Total Water Management.”

Total Water Management (TWM) includes remote metering, analytics, and other smart water management technologies, as well as rate designs and incentive programs that result in resource conservation. TWM helps protect water supplies in water-scarce areas experiencing population growth.

Francesca represents Global Water’s second acquisition this year in Pima County following the acquisition of Mirabell in October. The company plans to make additional tuck-in acquisitions in the county later this year.

“We believe this acquisition is a low-risk deal that complements our existing business,” added Christopher Krygier, chief strategy officer for Global Water Resources. “We are well positioned to pursue other opportunities that fit this profile and hope to have further announcements in the near future.”

About Global Water Resources
Global Water Resources, Inc. is a leading water resource management company that owns and operates 14 utilities which provide water, wastewater, and recycled water services. The company’s service areas are located primarily in growth corridors around metropolitan Phoenix. Global Water recycles nearly 1 billion gallons of water annually.

The company has been recognized for its highly-effective implementation of Total Water Management (TWM). TWM is an integrated approach to managing the entire water cycle by owning and operating water, wastewater and recycled water utilities within the same geographic area in order to maximize the beneficial use of recycled water. TWM includes additional smart water management programs such as remote metering infrastructure and other advanced technologies, rate designs, and incentives that result in real conservation. TWM helps protect water supplies in water-scarce areas experiencing population growth. To learn more, visit www.gwresources.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes certain forward-looking statements which reflect the company's expectations regarding future events. The forward-looking statements involve a number of assumptions, risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning future net income growth, our strategy, acquisition plans, our dividend policy, the timing and likelihood of approval of the certificate of convenience and necessity for the Inland Port project and the anticipated benefits, trends relating to population growth, active service connections, regulated revenue, housing permit projections, the development of residential and commercial properties within our service areas, the anticipated impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic on the company, including to our business operations, results of operations, cash flows, and financial position, and our future responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and other statements that are not historical facts as well as statements identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates", or the negative of these terms, or other words of similar meaning. These statements are based on our current beliefs or expectations and are inherently subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in political, economic, business, market, regulatory, and other factors, including the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and the actions to contain the virus or treat its impact. Accordingly, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which reflect management’s views as of the date hereof. Factors that may affect future results are disclosed under the headings “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which are available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. This includes, but is not limited to, our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, and subsequent filings with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, except as required by law, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Company Contact:
Michael J. Liebman
SVP and CFO
Tel (480) 999-5104
mike.liebman@gwresources.com        

Investor Relations:
Ron Both or Grant Stude
CMA Investor Relations
Tel (949) 432-7566
GWRS@cma.team