Barchester Healthcare to bid for Priory
Eight groups are expected to submit offers for the Priory, best known for treating the drink and drug addictions of celebrities, ahead of today’s deadline for bids. The Priory, which has treated stars ranging from snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan to Brian McFadden’s ex Kerry Katona, is being put up for sale by investment bank Doughty Hanson and could sell for in excess of €725 million.
Aside from the famous London clinic, Priory Healthcare owns 15 psychiatric hospitals, seven teaching schools and a number of smaller treatment centres.
In 2003, the company had revenues of €110 million and profits of €21m. The price should not be too much of a stretch for Barchester with Mr Magnier and Mr McManus worth €330 million more following the sale of their shares in Manchester United.
Barchester Healthcare recently raised €250m from its shareholders to fund its expansion plans, which will also include a move into the Irish market.
The company is the third-largest owner of nursing homes in Britain. It has about 100 homes and has doubled in size in the past year following its takeover of Westminster Healthcare for €730m last November.
It is chaired by the former Kerry Group chief executive Denis Brosnan.
The other bidders for the Priory are thought to include Partnerships in Care, Britain’s biggest chain of mental health hospitals, and private equity groups BC Partners and Allianz Capital Partners. The sale of Priory is being handled by bankers NM Rothschild and at least two more rounds of bidding can be expected before a new owner is found. The sale process could be completed by the end of the summer.
If Barchester do win out, it would give the company the number one slot in the British market.
A flotation on the London Stock Exchange in the next few years is also a possibility for the company.
