Australian private equity firm BGH Capital is understood to be homing in on the dental care provider Abano Healthcare as it looks for opportunities with up to $2.6bn worth of firepower.
An acquisition of the company is expected to be worth about $300m, including debt.
For the 2019 financial year to May, Abano generated annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $32.7m and $7.6m of net profit.
Abano, which owns the Maven Dental network in Australia, announced in July that it had launched a strategic review and had hired advisory firm Rothschild and Cameron Partners after receiving various expressions of interest.
The company, which has a $NZ100m ($92.7m) market value, said in its results commentary that its positive performance in New Zealand had been offset by weaker earnings in healthcare.
Abano has 239 dental practices in Australia and New Zealand, where it is listed, and plans to gain greater dominance in the trans-Tasman market, with IT platforms already built to support growth.
BGH Capital is an Australia-based private equity fund founded in 2017 by former Macquarie Capital boss Robin Bishop and former TPG Capital executives Ben Gray and Simon Harle.
Last year it raised $2.6bn.
The group is likely to be among the buyout funds currently circling other targets in the market such as Illion and Modern Star.
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