A consortium led by HMC Capital is considering buying assets from Brookfield-owned Healthscope, the debt-stricken Australian private hospital group.
Healthscope, which operates 38 private hospitals, is the second-largest private hospital group in Australia. It is widely reported to be seeking to refinance A$1.6bn (€967m) of debt.
Healthscope’s financial situation has prompted speculation about potential buyers, including HMC Capital, for the hospital operator, which Brookfield acquired for A$4.4bn in 2019.
ASX-listed HealthCo Healthcare & Wellness REIT (HCW), managed by HMC Capital, already owns 11 of the private hospitals currently operated by Healthscope.
HMC Capital managing director, real estate, Sid Sharma, said during a briefing of the HCW results that it had been approached by the private equity arm of HMC Capital to join a consortium to buy out Healthscope.
“HCW and UHF [unlisted healthcare fund] have been approached by capable and qualified parties to potentially tenant the 11 hospitals that we own,” said Sharma.
“We understand HMC is in discussion with a broad group of key stakeholders regarding potential options. HWC will consider meaningful executable proposals and ensure that these hospitals continue to service the Australian communities that rely on them.”
Sharma said: “We recognise that the HCW unit price has continued to be impacted by speculation about Healthscope and have proactively prepared for a number of potential scenarios that could play out in the short term until a sustainable solution is found.
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