Primary Health Properties (PHP) has secured 62.9% shareholder acceptance for its £1.9bn ($2.4bn) cash-and-stock takeover of UK healthcare real estate investor Assura, ending a months-long bidding battle with US private equity group KKR, according to a report by Reuters.
The deal, backed by Assura’s board in June after PHP raised its offer, has now satisfied all remaining conditions and will proceed to completion. The transaction is notable as one of the few recent UK public market deals to resist a private equity cash buyout, amid a wave of take-private transactions in the past two years.
Assura owns and manages more than 600 primary care properties across the UK, with the NHS as a key tenant. PHP’s victory has been framed by analysts at Shore Capital as a win not only for the company but also for “critical UK infrastructure, the UK stock market, the delivery of healthcare in the British Isles and society at large.”
KKR had urged Assura to reconsider its bid, but the company reiterated support for PHP’s proposal ahead of the shareholder vote.
