Ohio Rev. Code § 4905.481
With the consent and approval of the public utilities commission, a large water-works or sewage disposal system company may purchase the property, plant, or business of any municipal water-works or sewage disposal system company, as those companies are defined in section 4909.051 of the Revised Code. A petition filed under this section may also seek approval of a certificate of public convenience and necessity and the approval of an original cost valuation under section 4909.052 of the Revised Code.
To obtain the consent and approval of the commission for such authority, a petition, signed and verified by the president of the large water-works or sewage disposal system company, clearly setting forth the object and purposes desired, and the terms and conditions of the same, shall be filed with the commission. If the commission deems it necessary, it shall, upon the filing of such petition, fix a time and place for a hearing.
The commission shall approve any petition filed with the commission under this section related to an acquisition described in section 4909.052 of the Revised Code, including a petition seeking the approval of a certificate of public convenience and necessity, provided that a large water-works or sewage disposal system company pursuant to section 4909.051 of the Revised Code sufficiently demonstrates, and the commission finds, that such petition is just and reasonable. A petition filed under this section shall be deemed approved if the commission fails to issue a final order not later than two hundred seventy days after the date the initial petition is filed, unless the commission suspends review of the petition for good cause shown.
R.C. § 4905.481