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This article in the Australian came out 13 hours ago and do not think it is ACL holding the shares (no such disclosure on ACL's stat account), interesting to find out who the real holder is. Regardless its good sign of more activities to come.
Share selldown dims hopes of pathology merger between ACL and Healius
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Australian Clinical Labs had aspirations of buying Healius but came up against fierce opposition. Picture: Eddie Russell
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13 hours ago
Hopes of another attempt of a merger between Australian Clinical Labs and Healius are diminishing with talk that the former sold down its shares in the latter last week.
Australian Clinical Labs had aspirations of buying Healius but came up against fierce opposition from the target.
It held a stake of just under 5 per cent in Healius, and sources say that it has been selling the holding into the market.
Healius reported its full-year results last week, with a $151m loss compared to a $646m loss in the previous corresponding year. Shares fell 15 per cent but later recovered by the same amount.
The pair carried out discussions about a tie-up in 2023, when ACL made a hostile takeover bid.
Healius fended off the bid.
ACL’s former private equity owner, Crescent Capital, listed the business in 2021 at $4 per share. On Friday, shares closed at $2.50.
Since its approach, Healius has sold its diagnostic imaging business to Affinity Equity Partners for $965m, leaving it as a pure play pathology operator.
Mergers have also been attempted in the past when the pathology assets of ACL and Healius were under different ownership, but objections from the ACCC have always stood in the way of any transaction proceeding.
Many experts believe industry consolidation remains inevitable to sustain strong earnings, and a combination of ACL and Healius made the most sense.
The country’s third largest pathology network with 14 per cent market share, Australian Clinical Labs is a roll-up of businesses, including operations from Healthscope and St John of God.
When ACL bid for its bigger rival in 2023, it offered 0.74 ACL shares for each Healius share, equating to Healius and ACL shareholders owning 68 and 32 per cent, respectively, of the new entity.
Investors have been placing pressure on the two groups to combine, where cost savings have been estimated at $95m.
Healius is the second largest player behind Sonic with 25 per cent market share, but the view is that ACL has a strong operating team and could bring to pass efficiencies by running its bigger rival.
Bridget CarterDataRoom Editor
Bridget Carter has worked as a writer and editor for The Australian’s DataRoom column since it was launched in 2013, focusing on capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and investment banking. She has been a journalist for more than 18 years, covering a broad range of events and topics, including high profile court cases and crimes, natural disasters, social issues and company news.
This article in the Australian came out 13 hours ago and do not think it is ACL holding the shares (no such disclosure on ACL's stat account), interesting to find out who the real holder is. Regardless its good sign of more activities to come.
Share selldown dims hopes of pathology merger between ACL and Healius
Listen to this article
2 min
Australian Clinical Labs had aspirations of buying Healius but came up against fierce opposition. Picture: Eddie Russell
Gift this article0 Comments
13 hours ago
Hopes of another attempt of a merger between Australian Clinical Labs and Healius are diminishing with talk that the former sold down its shares in the latter last week.
Australian Clinical Labs had aspirations of buying Healius but came up against fierce opposition from the target.
It held a stake of just under 5 per cent in Healius, and sources say that it has been selling the holding into the market.
Healius reported its full-year results last week, with a $151m loss compared to a $646m loss in the previous corresponding year. Shares fell 15 per cent but later recovered by the same amount.
The pair carried out discussions about a tie-up in 2023, when ACL made a hostile takeover bid.
Healius fended off the bid.
ACL’s former private equity owner, Crescent Capital, listed the business in 2021 at $4 per share. On Friday, shares closed at $2.50.
Since its approach, Healius has sold its diagnostic imaging business to Affinity Equity Partners for $965m, leaving it as a pure play pathology operator.
Mergers have also been attempted in the past when the pathology assets of ACL and Healius were under different ownership, but objections from the ACCC have always stood in the way of any transaction proceeding.
Many experts believe industry consolidation remains inevitable to sustain strong earnings, and a combination of ACL and Healius made the most sense.
The country’s third largest pathology network with 14 per cent market share, Australian Clinical Labs is a roll-up of businesses, including operations from Healthscope and St John of God.
When ACL bid for its bigger rival in 2023, it offered 0.74 ACL shares for each Healius share, equating to Healius and ACL shareholders owning 68 and 32 per cent, respectively, of the new entity.
Investors have been placing pressure on the two groups to combine, where cost savings have been estimated at $95m.
Healius is the second largest player behind Sonic with 25 per cent market share, but the view is that ACL has a strong operating team and could bring to pass efficiencies by running its bigger rival.
Bridget CarterDataRoom Editor
Bridget Carter has worked as a writer and editor for The Australian’s DataRoom column since it was launched in 2013, focusing on capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and investment banking. She has been a journalist for more than 18 years, covering a broad range of events and topics, including high profile court cases and crimes, natural disasters, social issues and company news.