$14.8 Billion Proposal From KKR-led Consortium Boosts Ramsay Health Care's Shares

The non-binding offer price of A$88 in cash per share represents an almost 37% premium over Ramsay's Tuesday closing price of A$64.39. The offer boosted the hospital operator's shares by up to 29.8 percent to A$83.55 in early trading, the largest intraday gain in company history.

Ramsay said in a statement that it would undertake non-exclusive due diligence to the KKR-led group and that discussions were at an early stage.

The hospital operator said that it had evaluated the proposal with its advisors and requested further information from the partnership on the group's finances and deal structure.

KKR did not react quickly to a request for comment from Reuters.

If completed, the buyout would be the largest in Australia this year, almost doubling transaction activity, which fell 41.2 percent year on year in the first quarter to $17.4 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

The suggestion comes as record-low borrowing rates encourage private equity companies, superannuation funds, and pension funds to invest in healthcare and infrastructure assets.

Additionally, the transaction would be the largest private equity-backed takeover of an Australian corporation. The nation has seen a rush of spectacular takeovers in the last year, including the acquisition of Sydney Airport and Block Inc S acquisition of Afterpay, the buy-now-pay-later king.

The pandemic impacted healthcare operators such as Ramsay, with non-emergency procedures being closed, workforce shortages owing to isolation laws, and upward wage pressure impacting on profits, making the industry more inexpensive for a buyout than it was a few years ago.

CSL (OTC:CSLLY) Ltd, an Australian pharmaceutical company, announced last year that it will acquire Swiss manufacturer Vifor Pharma AG for $11.7 billion.

The transaction would provide a significant return for the Paul Ramsay Foundation, the company's largest shareholder at 18.8 percent.

Paul Ramsay founded the Foundation in 1964 with the conversion of a Sydney guest house into one of the country's first mental hospitals. In 2019, the Foundation sold approximately 11% of the firm for A$61.80 per share, much less than KKR's indicated price.

Reuters' request for comment was not immediately responded to.

According to its website, Ramsay runs hospitals and clinics in ten countries across three continents, with a network of more than 530 facilities.

It runs 72 private hospitals and day surgery centres in Australia and over 350 clinics and primary care units in six European countries.

KKR presently owns Elsan, a French healthcare company.

Earlier this year, IHH Healthcare Bhd made Ramsay and Malaysia's Sime Darby Holdings a $1.35 billion acquisition bid for their Asia joint venture. Ramsay said that it was continuing to pursue this purchase.

The hospital operator has retained UBS AG's Australia Branch and Herbert Smith Freehills as financial and legal consultants on the KKR-led consortium's bid, respectively.