Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for free<\/p>\n
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.<\/p>\n
A US private equity consortium has agreed a \u00a31.7bn deal for NHS landlord Assura following a months-long bidding process, in the latest takeover of a London-listed company.<\/p>\n
Assura, which owns hundreds of UK doctors\u2019 surgeries and healthcare centres, on Wednesday said it had reached agreement on terms of a \u201cbest and final\u201d cash offer from KKR and Stonepeak.<\/p>\n
The company had in April agreed to a \u00a31.6bn bid from KKR and Stonepeak, but last month said it would consider an offer from its rival Primary Health Properties, which would have kept the company in the UK market. <\/p>\n
\u201cAfter nearly a year of engagement, this is our best and final offer which we believe is lower risk than other alternatives and higher in value,\u201d said Andrew Furze, managing director at KKR. <\/p>\n
Making a final offer means the KKR consortium would not be allowed to increase its bid unless it gets consent from the UK\u2019s Takeover Panel.<\/p>\n
The consortium now faces a battle to convince shareholders to accept its offer. <\/p>\n
The group has switched its bid to a traditional takeover offer meaning the deal can go through if it wins the backing of more than 50 per cent of Assura shareholders. It had previously planned to implement its takeover via a scheme of arrangement, which would have required a higher level of acceptances.<\/p>\n
A takeover would mark the latest delisting of a London-listed group. This week private equity group Advent International said it was in talks to buy<\/a> industrial group Spectris in a \u00a34.4bn deal, while US semiconductor group Qualcomm agreed<\/a> a $2.4bn takeover of chip designer Alphawave.<\/p>\n