Toscafund-backed group to buy Spire Healthcare for £1.03bn

A consortium backed by Toscafund has agreed to buy Spire Healthcare for about £1.03bn, offering 250p a share to take the company private. The price values the UK-listed hospital operator at roughly £1.03bn and will remove Spire from the London market.

The acquisition will be made through a newly formed vehicle called Tulip UK, supported by funds advised or managed by Toscafund Asset Management, THCP Advisory and Ares Management. Toscafund was already Spire’s second-largest shareholder and had been in talks with the company for several months.

The 250p-per-share offer represents a premium of about 66% to Spire’s closing price on 13 May, before details of the talks became public.

Spire operates 38 hospitals and about 55 clinics across England, Wales and Scotland. It also runs private GP services and provides occupational health services to more than 1,400 employers. The company has been conducting a strategic review since September last year.

Tulip UK intends to carry out a further review of Spire’s business for up to 12 months after completion, including an assessment of its primary care operations. The offer document states the review could lead to disposals of parts of the private GP business and workforce reductions in some areas.

The offer document says taking Spire private would allow the new owners to make operational and strategic changes without the immediate scrutiny of quarterly market reporting.

The transaction will follow the usual takeover process, including a shareholder vote and regulatory approvals. The consortium has not yet set a timetable for completion. Spire’s board will provide further information to shareholders as required under takeover rules.