But rumour is the company’s lenders are happy with Pacific Equity Partners’ offer, even though CEO Tino La Spina says the hospital is worth twice as much.
Healthscope’s executive team is trying to discourage a sale of the Prince of Wales Private Hospital to Pacific Equity Partners, on the grounds it’s worth more than double what the private equity firm is offering.
According to the Australian Financial Review, Healthscope CEO Tino La Spina and CFO Jeff Sells told the operator’s lending syndicate that the POW is worth more than $240 million, double what PEP is allegedly offering.
Mr La Spina is still pushing to keep Healthscope’s remaining assets together as a not-for-profit entity – a proposal that he has been pushing with little success since September last year.
PEP owns Healthe Care, a private hospital operator.
According to the AFR, Mr La Spina’s valuation of POW is wide of the mark, with rumours that Healthscope’s lenders were not unhappy with PEP’s offer. Receivers McGrathNicol are expected to decide on PEP’s offer by the end of the month.
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Five Healthscope hospitals have now been sold — Mater Health this week announced it has acquired Gold Coast Private Hospital, Ramsay Health Care bought Canberra’s National Capital Private Hospital for $251 million, while Calvary bought the Hobart Private Hospital in Tasmania and the Holmesglen Private Hospital in outer Melbourne.
If McGrathNicol accept PEP’s offer on POW, that will leave 31 Healthscope hospitals up for sale. Some of those remaining are likely to fall by the wayside and end up closing.