THE 60-strong Ramsay Pharmacy network may potentially change hands after parent company Ramsay Health Care received a conditional offer from a consortium of investors led by private equity group KKR.
The non-binding indicative bid at $88 per share values the overall Ramsay group at more than $20 billion, with the company's Board of Directors this morning confirming it had "determined it appropriate to provide the Consortium with due diligence on a non-exclusive basis to explore whether the Consortium can put forward a binding proposal that is in the best interests of Ramsay's shareholders".
As well as its retail franchise pharmacy operation, Ramsay Australia is Australia's largest private hospital operator, with a portfolio of 72 private hospitals and day surgery units.
A number of Ramsay's pharmacies are located within or around its hospital locations, although it also operates pharmacies in communities and shopping centres in Qld, Vic and NSW.
The business also has 34 acute hospitals and day procedure centres in the UK, along with about 350 specialist clinics and primary care units in five European nations.
The KKR proposal would be implemented through a scheme of arrangement, and is subject to a range of conditions including completion of satisfactory due diligence, no disposal of any Ramsay subsidiaries or properties, final approval of the Consortium's investment committee, and approval by regulators such as the Foreign Investment Review Board.
It would also be subject to approval by a vote of Ramsay Health Care shareholders.
Ramsay noted that discussions with KKR are preliminary in nature, with no guarantee that any further proposal will be forthcoming.
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