Australian private hospital operator Healthscope Ltd (HSO.AX) said on Thursday it had received a $3.1 billion buyout approach from domestic private equity firm BGH Capital and pension fund AustralianSuper.
Healthscope, Australia’s second biggest private hospital owner with 45 facilities, said its board was assessing the indicative offer and “there is no certainty that the proposal will result in a transaction”.
Its shares surged 13 percent, not too far off the offer price.
A deal for Healthscope, which went public just four years ago, would be the first outing for BGH. BGH was established in 2017 by Ben Gray and Simon Harle, who used to lead the Australia team at TPG Capital Management LP [TPG.UL], and former Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG.AX) executive Robin Bishop.
BGH and AustralianSuper declined comment.
The proposal of A$2.36 per share represents a 16 percent premium to Healthscope’s most recent closing price and a 12 percent premium to its IPO price when Gray helped list the company in 2014.
Prior to its listing, Healthscope was co-owned by TPG and Carlyle Group LP (CG.O).
Healthscope shares hit a peak of A$3.16 in 2016 before the company issued two earnings downgrades as analysts blamed scandals in the private health insurance sector for renewed demand for public health services.
BGH, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and Singapore’s GIC own a combined 14.5 percent stake in Healthscope, according to a separate regulatory filing on Thursday.
AustralianSuper holds 13.9 percent of Healthscope, according to Thomson Reuters data.