Healthscope’s New Zealand pathology unit sale nears

In Australia, Healthscope runs 43 private hospitals Picture: Bloomberg

The sales process for Healthscope’s pathology business in New Zealand is expected to reach a conclusion in six to eight weeks, as pension funds from Europe and North America take on private equity to buy the business with a $550m book value.

Remaining in the short-listed round of the competition is thought to be Pacific Equity Partners, which is being advised by UBS, while other infrastructure funds closer to home such as Morrison and AMP Capital are not in the mix.

Brookfield was exploring a sale of the business before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, with adviser JPMorgan working on a deal.

Its moves come after it purchased Healthscope — Australia’s second-largest hospital operator — for $4.4bn last year.

While pathology has been a good growth business for Healthscope, it is not necessarily the core market in which the company wants to operate.

In Australia, Healthscope runs 43 private hospitals.