Dec 9 (Reuters) - New Zealand healthcare products
distributor EBOS Group Ltd said on Thursday it would
buy Australian peer LifeHealthcare for A$1.17 billion ($839.6
million), as it looks to expand into the Southeast Asia market.
Under the deal http://nzx-prod-s7fsd7f98s.s3-website-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/attachments/EBO/384370/361287.pdf,
EBOS will buy LifeHealthcare's Australian and New Zealand units
and 51% of its Asian unit, Transmedic, from funds advised by
Pacific Equity Partners and other minority holders.
"The acquisition ... represents an important step in EBOS'
medical devices strategy, providing greater exposure to this
high-growth sector as well as a measured entry into Southeast
Asia," EBOS Chief Executive John Cullity said in a statement.
The deal is expected to increase EBOS' earnings per share by
a low-double-digit percentage in 2022 on a pro-forma basis, the
New Zealand-based firm said.
LifeHealthcare, one of the largest independent distributors
of third-party medical devices and in-house manufactured
allograft material in Australia, New Zealand and South East
Asia, was bought by Pacific Equity Partners in 2018.
EBOS said it would undertake a retail offering to raise up
to A$100 million, a share placement to raise A$642 million and a
loan of A$540 million to fund the deal.
The company also said its net profit after tax (NPAT) grew
14% in the four months to October and that it expected to
declare an annual dividend representing 60% to 80% of its NPAT.
($1 = 1.3935 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Tejaswi Marthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak
Dasgupta and Ramakrishnan M.)