Arcapita sells South Staffs water to Alinda

LONDON (Reuters) - Bahrain-based investment firm Arcapita, whose investments comply with Islamic law, said on Monday it had sold water company South Staffordshire to private investment firm Alinda Capital Partners.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a source familiar with them said it was worth about 400 million pounds, including debt.

Water companies are attractive to financial bidders who prize them for their stable, regulated cashflow, which can be easily used to pay interest on bonds issued.

Arcapita bought South Staffordshire in 2004 for around 245 million pounds.

Dresdner Kleinwort advised Arcapita on the deal, while RBC Capital Markets acted for Alinda.

(Additional reporting by Mathieu Robbins)