By Elena Vardon


Assura agreed to an improved 1.70 billion pound ($2.29 billion) takeover bid from a consortium of private equity firms KKR and Stonepeak Partners, marking the latest development in a protracted bidding war for the U.K. healthcare-property investor.

The boards of Assura and the U.S. consortium--known as Sana Bidco--finalized terms for a final offer on Wednesday. Under the deal, shareholders will get 52.1 pence in cash for each Assura share including declared dividends. This represents a 39% premium to Assura's closing share price on Feb. 13, the day before the offer period began.

The London-listed company had been at the center of a bidding battle. Most recently, it was weighing an offer from local rival Primary Health Properties for 51.7 pence per share, which valued Assura at 1.68 billion pounds. Earlier in the process, Assura had initially accepted an all-cash offer from Sana Bidco at 49.4 pence a share but then delayed a vote to consider the PHP bid.

"The board's decision to recommend the offer from KKR and Stonepeak follows a careful and thorough evaluation of both offers, during which the board has been firmly focused on its fiduciary duty to shareholders," Assura's nonexecutive chair Ed Smith said.

"We require no disposals to achieve our ambition and importantly the all-cash offer poses minimal execution risk," KKR Managing Director Andrew Furze said.

Assura's directors concluded that the terms of this final offer are in the best interest of shareholders, the group said. They are consequently not recommending the PHP deal--which they consider presents material risks and downsides--and have advised shareholders to take no action in relation to it.

PHP expressed strong disagreement with Assura's assessment of its offer and said that it is considering its options.

The investor pointed out that the U.K. government's spending review for the next three years published on Wednesday, in which the Chancellor pledged 29 billion pounds per year in day-to-day spending for the National Health Service, is positive for both businesses.

Assura and PHP are two of the largest listed real estate investment trusts that specialize in healthcare facilities across the country, primarily focusing on general practitioner surgeries and other NHS-related properties. A potential merger between the two would have kept a significant portion of these vital assets within the U.K.'s public markets, countering a trend where several British companies are being delisted after being acquired by international investors.

Assura shares traded 2.1% higher at 49.9 pence in afternoon exchanges in London while PHP's rose 3.1%.


Write to Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-11-25 1110ET