Shares in UK-based healthcare real-estate investor Assura jumped more than 5% in early trade on the JSE on Monday, after the group recommended rival Primary Health Properties’ new offer, which values the group at about £1.79bn.
At 9.40am on the JSE Assura's share price was up 5% at R12.30. At the same time, PHP's share price was 4.6% lower at R24.80.
By market close, Assura’s share price was up 2.48% to R12, while PHP ended the day down 6.15% at R24.40.
Reuters reported that PHP’s offer trumped a lower offer from KKR and Stonepeak Partners.
PHP’s latest 53.3p per share bid was higher than KKR-Stonepeak’s “best and final" offer of 52.1p tabled earlier this month, and at a 47% premium to Assura’s closing price before KKR-Stonepeak's first approach, Reuters said.
Assura shareholders will get 0.3865 new PHP shares, 12.5p in cash and be entitled to a special dividend of 0.84p per share, PHP said in statement on Monday.
The private equity firms and PHP have been competing over Assura for months, gradually sweetening their offers for the company, which manages more than 600 healthcare properties and counts Britain’s state-backed National Health Service as a customer, Reuters said.
Commenting on the increased offer, PHP’s non-executive chair Harry Hyman said the board continued to believe in the strong strategic rationale of the combination, which would create a leading healthcare focused listed REIT with the scale and expertise to deliver significant benefits for the shareholders in both PHP and Assura.
“The increased PHP offer, which is expected to deliver earnings accretion to both sets of shareholders, allows Assura shareholders to participate in significant upside compared to crystallising value in cash at an inflection point in the current economic cycle, and benefit from the combined group’s likely long-term rating, continuing capital growth and a growing dividend," he said.
The Assura directors, who have been advised by Lazard, considered the terms of the increased offer to be fair and reasonable and they intended to recommend unanimously that shareholders accept the offer, Assura said.
Assura was listed on the JSE in November 2024 and has its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange.
Based in Altrincham in England, Assura cares for more than 600 healthcare buildings, from which more than 6-million patients are served, according to the company’s prelisting announcement.
With Reuters
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