Healthscope Gets A$4.1 Billion Bid From Group It Rejected in May

(Bloomberg) -- If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

A bidding group led by buyout firm BGH Capital and pension fund AustralianSuper on Tuesday made a fresh A$4.1 billion ($2.9 billion) takeover approach for hospital operator Healthscope Ltd., five months after having a similar bid rejected as too low.

Since then, Healthscope shares have plunged as much as 30 percent, closing Monday at an eight-month low of A$1.785. The BGH-led offer values shares of the Melbourne-based company at A$2.36 each, the same price it offered earlier this year. Healthscope in May also rejected a A$2.50 a share bid from Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management Inc.

Healthscope shares jumped as much as 22 percent to A$2.17 in Sydney trading Tuesday for its biggest intraday gain on record.

AustralianSuper, the nation’s largest pension fund, owns 14.5 percent of Healthscope. The bidders have the support of Ellerston Capital -- which owns a further 9.4 percent stake according to data compiled by Bloomberg -- to be given access to Healthscope’s books, the company said in a statement.

Healthscope, which is being advised by UBS Group AG, said it will assess the new offer, but advised shareholders not to take any action. The company runs 45 hospitals in Australia, and has pathology operations across New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, according to its website.

BGH Capital was founded last year by a trio of dealmakers including Robin Bishop, the former head of Macquarie Group Ltd.’s investment banking operations in Australia and New Zealand.

To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Vercoe in Sydney at pvercoe@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Edward Johnson at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net, Jeff Sutherland

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