Water supplier Severn Trent has rejected a takeover offer from a group of investors, which includes the Kuwaiti government.
The utility firm, which supplies tens of thousands of homes and businesses in Leicestershire, received an offer, believed to be worth about £5 billion, from a consortium made up of Canadian, Kuwaiti and British businesses.
The Severn Trent board said that the offer "completely fails to recognise the existing and potential value of Severn Trent".
The company was formed following the privatisation of UK water authorities in 1989.
