Sweden’s Ambea (AMBEA.ST) said on Tuesday it was buying rival Aleris’ (INVEb.ST) care operations – primarily nursing homes and assisted living – in Sweden, Denmark and Norway for an estimated 3 billion crowns ($334.9 million).
Ambea said the deal would make it the largest care provider in the Nordic region with around 13,100 full-time employees and 7,690 beds and placements under own management.
“We will create major opportunities for synergies, purchasing coordination and exchange of experiences in the areas of operational and quality development,” Ambea CEO Fredrik Gren said in a statement.
Aleris, owned by Investor AB (INVEb.ST), will purely be focused on its healthcare operations following the deal.
Ambea said it intended to finance the deal with existing credit facilities and new, secured bank financing, but that it still planned for a 1.2 billion crown preferential share issue during the first half of 2019 to repay part of the financing and lower its debt.
Two of its largest shareholders, private equity firms KKR and Triton with a joint 50.1 percent stake, intended to vote in favor of the share issue, Ambea said.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval, with closing expected during the first quarter of 2019.
