Canada’s NorthWest Healthcare Properties has made a A$2.5bn (€1.6bn) offer for Australian Unity Healthcare Property Trust (AUHPT).
Australian Unity Funds Management, the responsible entity of unlisted health care fund AUHPT, said that NorthWest proposed to pay about A$2.20 per unit to acquire AUHPT under a trust scheme of arrangement.
The Australian company said the proposal was “indicative, non-binding and subject to a number of conditions and a range of approvals, including completion of satisfactory due diligence and entry into a mutually agreed scheme implementation agreement”.
NorthWest has already acquired a stake of about 10% in AUHPT under an option agreement with Melbourne-based investment firm Hume Partners.
The trust’s portfolio includes 62 hospitals, medical centres and other assets leased to Australian healthcare operators.
The board of AUFM said it would assess the proposal and determine whether it was in the interests of AUHPT unitholders to engage with NorthWest.
“Unitholders do not need to take any action at this time and will be provided with further information shortly,” it said.
Northwest became the largest healthcare operator in Australasia in 2019 after it acquired 11 hospitals in the Healthscope portfolio from Brookfield for A$1.25bn.
Later in 2019, Northwest formed a A$2bn joint venture with GIC and has since upsized the Australian joint venture to A$3.6bn, with 70% of the additional capital coming from GIC.
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