A consortium of private equity underwriters (PEU's) placed a confidential bid on Healthscope, an Australian hospital company. The Carlyle Group and TPG are amongst the PEU's bidding on Healthscope. The Carlyle Group already owns a chunk of Turkish hospital operator Medical Park Hospital Group.
BusinessWeek reported:
Healthscope owns or operates 43 private hospitals in Australia, including the Prince of Wales Private Hospital in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and Melbourne Private Hospital on the fringe of the city’s central business district.Healthscope has high cash flow and divisions capable of being sold off, attributes prized by PEU's. Healthscope stock rose 17% on news of the bid.
Will domestic PEU owned hospitals compete with PEU sponsored medical tourism? Stay tuned.
Update: Carlyle and TPG increased their bid for by 25 cents a share
