Hospital group Mediclinic may pocket £287.8m (R5.6bn) for its stake in the UKʼs Spire Healthcare Group, following an acquisition offer by Australiaʼs Ramsay Health Care, reports Fin24.
Mediclinic acquired its 29.9% stake in 2015 for R8.6bn. In a statement, Mediclinic said Ramsay had reached an agreement to acquire 100% of Spire for 249 pence per share. The offer will be finalised once it is approved by Spire shareholders and Mediclinic confirmed that it will vote in favour of the transaction.
"The funds received from the sale of Mediclinicʼs shareholding in Spire will reduce leverage, providing additional financial flexibility to deliver Mediclinicʼs strategic goals including the pursuit of further growth opportunities," said Mediclinic. The group has operations in Europe, the Middle East and South Africa and is listed on the JSE, as well as the London Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of Australia.
Simultaneously, Mediclinicʼs results for the year ended 31 March 2021 were released, showing revenue down 31% to £2.9bn. The hospital group said its performance was impacted by COVID-19 related lockdowns and the postponement of elective surgeries, in April 2020.
Full News24 report (Open access)