As KKR and its partners continue their due diligence of bid target Ramsay Health Care, AFR Weekend asks if private equity firms can be good owners of such sensitive and vital assets.
When emergency physician Arthur Smolensky and his 39 doctor co-owners sold their medical practice in Arizona in 2015 to an entity that was later bought out by KKR & Co’s Envision Healthcare, he had high hopes.
Instead of those hopes being fulfilled, however, after Envision took over cost-cutting prevailed under the new private equity owners as profits became a central focus of the cash-hungry business.
Carrie LaFrenzSenior reporterCarrie LaFrenz is a senior journalist covering retail/consumer goods. She previously covered healthcare/biotech. Carrie has won multiple awards for her journalism including financial journalist of the year from The National Press Club. Connect with Carrie on Twitter. Email Carrie at carrie.lafrenz@afr.com
Matthew CranstonUnited States correspondentMatthew Cranston was The Australian Financial Review’s United States correspondent.
James ThomsonColumnistJames Thomson is senior Chanticleer columnist based in Melbourne. He was the Companies editor and editor of BRW Magazine. Connect with James on Twitter. Email James at j.thomson@afr.com
