Ramsay finalises French acquisition
Ramsay Health Care Limited (RHC) said it has finalised its acquisition of a 57% interest in leading French private hospital operator Groupe Proclif SAS after meeting the requisite regulatory approvals. On 11 January this year Ramsay announced it had agreed to purchase the majority stake in Proclif for €87 million, marking Ramsay’s first acquisition in Continental Europe.
The company said Proclif is the second largest hospital group in the Paris region, comprising nine acute hospitals in the fields of medicine, surgery and obstetrics and generating annual revenue of approximately €133 million.
The remaining 43% interest in Proclif is held by Crédit Agricole Assurances personal insurance arm Predica.
Ramsay said as part of the acquisition it has entered into a long-term partnership with Predica to grow the business and build a portfolio of hospitals in the French acute care sector.
Ramsay managing director, Christopher Rex, said the market dynamics are very attractive in France, which has an integrated private and public hospital system, a strong regulatory framework and sustainable funding regime.
“Of particular importance to Ramsay is the highly fragmented nature of the French hospital market which has more than 400 small private operators,” Mr Rex said.
“This presents significant opportunities for Ramsay to expand its quality portfolio of hospitals in France and apply its proven model and management expertise.”
The company expects the acquisition to deliver a small accretion to core EPS by FY12, with more significant EPS accretion anticipated as future acquisitions are made.
Ramsay also reaffirmed guidance for core NPAT growth of 18%-20% for the group for FY10, translating to core EPS growth of 10%-12%.
As at 1038 AEDT, Ramsay shares were unchanged at $13.98.
