Primary care centre builder Assura agrees €1.86bn sale 

Assura began developing healthcare facilities in Ireland three years ago

Funds managed by KKR and Stonepeak Partners LP have agreed to buy medical landlord Assura for £1.6bn (€1.86bn) in cash, according to a statement on Wednesday.

Funds managed by KKR and Stonepeak Partners LP have agreed to buy medical landlord Assura for £1.6bn (€1.86bn) in cash, according to a statement on Wednesday.

Assura has extensive operations in the UK before entering the Irish market three years ago. It has been responsible for developing primary care centres and other healthcare facilities in counties including Mayo, Cavan, Monaghan, and Offaly.

“The cash offer from KKR and Stonepeak offers an attractive opportunity for Assura shareholders to crystallize value immediately and enables the company to accelerate its growth via additional investment in critical healthcare infrastructure in the UK and Ireland,” Assura chief executive Jonathan Murphy said.

The private equity firms have offered to buy the company for 49.4p per share and a quarterly dividend that was due to be paid in April, it said. That represents a 31.9% premium to Assura’s share price before the bid became public and is in line with the company’s most recent valuation.

Assura’s board recommended the deal to shareholders after rejecting a lower cash-and-stock offer from rival landlord Primary Health Properties the firm said Wednesday.

The recommended offer comes after a series bids for Assura, the latest real landlord to be acquired by private equity. Fears about valuations, high management costs and small scale have hampered the sector have seen most real estate investment trusts trading at wide discounts to their reported valuations, creating an opportunity for buyout firms.

KKR has become a major investors in healthcare through its infrastructure investment business John Laing. Long leases and State-backed tenants in medical properties have lured increasing investment from infrastructure funds.

The deal is expected to close early in the third quarter of 2025. Shares in the medical landlord jumped as much as 5.9% at the European market open.

Lazard, Barclays Bank Plc and Stifel Nicolaus Europe advised Assura on the proposed deal; Jefferies is advising the KKR and Stonepeak consortium.

Bloomberg