Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners is understood to have tapped advisory firm Rothschild & Co as it considers a buyout of Healius.
Sources have suggested that the infrastructure investor has been weighing an acquisition for some time but may have cooled on the target recently.
One possibility is that it could wait for the share price to fall before offering to buy the company. Healius shares rallied in the past month on the back of an offer from Australian Clinical Labs.
That offer was rejected by major shareholders.
Healthcare companies are struggling with higher costs due to challenges in attracting staff.
Healius last month told shareholders to take no action over the nil-premium merger offer from Australian Clinical Labs that came with 25 conditions, including 90 per cent shareholder approval.
Major shareholders Tanarra Capital and Perpetual were against the ACL offer, and they collectively hold 21 per cent of the company.
Late last year, private equity firm EQT and infrastructure groups Omers and IFM were looking at Healius, the country’s second largest pathology and diagnostic imaging services provider.
Healius reported a $28.7m loss or the six months to December.
Pathology earnings have fallen since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when pathology services were in strong demand.
Healthcare companies are now suffering from staffing shortages, which are driving costs higher.
China’s Jangho offered $1.8bn for Healius in 2019, but was rejected, while Partners Group offered $2.1bn in 2020 but was also rebuffed.
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