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Bridget Carter

Cornerstone in the hunt for deals as Healius plan goes awry

Bridget Carter
Henry Bateman, CEO of Cornerstone Health. Picture: James Croucher
Henry Bateman, CEO of Cornerstone Health. Picture: James Croucher

Medical executive Henry Bateman is understood to have been involved in talks with BGH Capital about vending his business into the Healius medical centres operation, sources say.

BGH Capital purchased the Healius medical centre portfolio for $500m, with the deal announced on Monday.

Initially, it was thought that Mr Bateman was buying the medical centres portfolio with BGH Capital after numerous talks were held with both parties.

However, the understanding now is that the talks centred on combining his Cornerstone Health and the Healius medical centre operations.

The proposal involved Mr Bateman running the overall operation, but the plan is not proceeding.

Sources close to Mr Bateman say Cornerstone has been involved in various discussions with private equity firms and has looked at different proposals.

His company is understood to be well capitalised, with AMP Capital the major shareholder.

Henry Bateman is the son of the late Dr Ed Bateman, who founded Healius (previously known as Primary Healthcare) as a medical centre business in 1985.

For eight years Henry Bateman ran the medical centre division of the ASX top 100 healthcare company that his father founded.

Cornerstone Health was established about three years ago by Mr Bateman and has more than 124 healthcare providers supported by 125 nursing and administrative staff.

DataRoom understands that the plan is for BGH Capital to create a major alternative healthcare services business that could be worth up to $2bn, as it also advances on Abano Healthcare in New Zealand, which owns dental surgeries.

The Healius medical centres generated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the six months to December of $30m.

BGH Capital will be buying 69 medical centres along with 62 dental clinics and 13 Health & Co practices.

The Healius business has at least 86 medical centres, including the Health & Co clinics.

Bridget Carter
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.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/dataroom/cornerstone-in-the-hunt-for-deals-as-healius-plan-goes-awry/news-story/25e53bc5422cf6c5009ea6a35441f862