(Bloomberg) -- Jangho Group Co. offered to acquire the stake in Australia's Healius Ltd. it doesn't already own in a deal that would value the company at about A$2 billion ($1.4 billion), as firms in Asia jostle to acquire health-care operators to serve a growing demand for better doctors and services.
- Beijing-based engineering company Jangho already holds about 16 percent of Healius and is offering A$3.25 a share in cash for the remaining stake, Healius said in a statement Thursday. That represents a 33 percent premium to Healius' closing price Wednesday of A$2.44.
- Healius, which operates medical centers and specialist clinics in Australia, said it would assess the proposal and hasn't formed a view on the offer price.
Key Insights
- Asia's private health-care operators have been expanding to meet the demands of affluent consumers looking for better medical care. Deal activity in the region has been rife, such as Japan's Mitsui & Co. agreeing in November to pay $2 billion to become the largest shareholder in Malaysian hospital operator IHH Healthcare Bhd.
- Jangho, an engineering and construction company, has been trying to diversify into health-care services. In 2015, it acquired Vision Eye Institute, Australia's largest ophthalmology chain, with the aim of bringing the eye centers to Chinese cities.
Market Reaction
- Healius shares rose as much as 15 percent to A$2.80 in trading in Sydney on Thursday, for the biggest intraday gain in almost three years. Jangho shares fell as much as 2.9 percent in Shanghai trading.
Get More
- Healius, which changed its name from Primary Health Care last year, operates about 2,400 pathology centers, 70 medical centers and is partnered with 1,500 general practitioners, dentists and other health-care specialists.
- More on Jangho's statement here.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Rachel Chang in Shanghai at wchang98@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeff Sutherland at jsutherlan13@bloomberg.net, Bhuma Shrivastava
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
With assistance from Bloomberg
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
