Australia’s second-largest private hospitals operator has officially fallen to private equity once again, after shareholders overwhelmingly backed Healthscope’s $4.4 billion takeover by Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management.

The 13-month saga was punctuated by surprises, including rival bidder BGH Group locking up the company’s biggest shareholder, AustralianSuper in support of its bid. During the fight, Healthscope downgraded earnings and opened its biggest project Northern Beaches Hospital with numerous problems. Unhappy shareholders also lumped pressure on chairman Paula Dwyer to open up its books to BGH.