Assura recommends £1.6bn KKR takeover

The board of healthcare real estate investor Assura has recommended a £1.6bn takeover by private equity group KKR and Stonepeak. The offer of 48.56 pence in cash for each Assura share marks a premium of 31.9% to the closing price of 37.4p per Assura share on 13 February, before the start of the offer period. Assura chief executive Jonathan Murphy said: “The cash offer from KKR and Stonepeak offers an attractive opportunity for Assura shareholders to crystallise value immediately and enables the company to accelerate its growth via additional investment in critical healthcare infrastructure in the UK and Ireland. My team and I look forward to working closely with KKR and Stonepeak in the years ahead.” Tara Davies, co-head of EMEA and co-head of European infrastructure at KKR, added: “Assura is a market leader in healthcare infrastructure and we share the company’s objective of building best-in-class facilities to support the delivery of national healthcare objectives. Delivering this effectively requires significant investment in Assura’s platform, a long-term perspective and the ability to fund Assura’s growth through long-term and flexible capital. Together, KKR and Stonepeak bring deep pockets and understanding of UK infrastructure and real estate, and a shared track record of accelerating growth and investment.” Confirmation of the recommended offer came after Assura’s board “unanimously” rejected a £1.5bn indicative takeover proposal from Primary Health Properties. Under the terms of that proposal, made earlier this month, Assura shareholders would receive 0.3848 new PHP shares and 9.08 pence in cash for each Assura share they held. That valuation would mark a premium of 23.5% to Assura’s closing share price of 37.4p on 13 February, the last business day before the offer period. PHP had earlier said a deal will create the eighth largest UK listed REIT, with a combined £6bn portfolio, “benefiting from increased public markets presence, greater index weighting and improved investor flows”. In a stock exchange statement, Assura said: “The board has considered the PHP proposal carefully with its advisers and concluded that it is not at a level that is sufficient to be recommended to shareholders. The board has therefore rejected the PHP proposal unanimously.”