- Australia’s largest private hospital operator, Ramsay Health Care (RHC), receives a takeover bid from US private equity giant KKR valuing Ramsay at over $20 billion
- Under the offer, a consortium of investors led by KKR would fork out $88 per Ramsay share for full control of the ASX-listed company
- Ramsay says the takeover talks are still preliminary and, as such, shareholders do not need to take any action just yet
- Founded by businessman Paul Ramsay, RHC has been listed on the ASX for 25 years and has grown into a network of 532 facilities across Australia, the UK, Europe, and Asia
- Shares in Ramsay Health Care have spiked 24.2 per cent to $80 today following the offer from KKR
Shares in Australia’s largest private hospital operator, Ramsay Health Care (RHC), skyrocketed on Wednesday after US private equity giant KKR lobbed a takeover bid valuing Ramsay at over $20 billion.
Ramsay this morning confirmed the offer, under which a consortium of investors led by KKR would fork out $88 per Ramsay share for full control of the ASX-listed company. The deal represents a 37 per cent premium to Ramsay’s last closing price of $64.39 and values Ramsay at roughly $20.05 billion.
Ramsay shareholders will have the option to receive part of the payment as unlisted scrip in KKR.
Ramsay said the takeover talks were still preliminary and, as such, shareholders did not need to take any action just yet.
Still, the offer is enough for Ramsay to have given KKR access to its books to take on some non-exclusive due diligence and potentially convert the offer into a more binding proposal.
As it stands, Ramsay said there is no guarantee any deal will be reached between the two entities.
Founded by businessman Paul Ramsay, RHC has been listed on the ASX for 25 years and has grown into a network of 532 facilities across Australia, the UK, Europe, and Asia.
A successful deal with KKR would see Ramsay, which is currently the fourth-largest healthcare stock on the market, leave the ASX.
Shares in Ramsay Health Care have spiked 24.2 per cent to $80 today following the offer from KKR. The company has a $14.73 billion market cap.