The board of healthcare real estate investor Assura has recommended that shareholders accept a £1.69bn takeover offer from private equity buyers KKR and Stonepeak.
The bidders, which have raised their offer to see off competition from Primary Health Properties, have offered 50.42p in cash per share, in addition to which Assura shareholders will retain two quarterly dividends.
Assura said the PHP offer “presents material risks and downsides to Assura shareholders which undermine the potential benefits of the proposed combination under the PHP offer”.
Non-executive chair Ed Smith said: “The board’s decision to recommend the offer from KKR and Stonepeak follows a careful and thorough evaluation of both offers, during which the Board has been firmly focused on its fiduciary duty to shareholders. KKR and Stonepeak are highly experienced investors in healthcare and infrastructure and I am confident that with their support, and the additional capital they will provide, Assura will continue to deliver the high-quality healthcare infrastructure our communities need.”
Andrew Furze, managing director at KKR, said: “After nearly a year of engagement, this is our best and final offer which we believe is lower risk than other alternatives and higher in value offering a significant premium. We require no disposals to achieve our ambition and importantly the all cash offer poses minimal execution risk.”
Nikolaus Woloszczuk, senior managing director at Stonepeak, added: “We firmly believe Assura has a brighter future in the private markets. Our final offer equips Assura with the long-term capital it has not been able to access as a listed business and will enable the company to invest in upgrading critical healthcare infrastructure, delivering improved outcomes for the NHS. Our offer is about growth, not about cost cutting and disposals.”
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