The Paul Ramsay Foundation is offloading part of its stake in the country’s biggest private hospital operator, Ramsay Healthcare, in a deal worth more than $1.36 billion.
The block trade is understood to be the largest in almost two years, with JPMorgan and UBS working on the deal.
Shares were being sold through a bookbuild after the market closed on Monday.
The trade has been underwritten at a $61.80 floor price and bids from fund managers called for in 20c increments, with a ceiling price of $63.80. The transaction is expected to price at the bottom of the range.
The deal involves 22 million Ramsay Healthcare shares, representing 10.9 per cent of the company. Shares in Ramsay closed at $65.20.
Since the start of the year, speculation had been mounting that the Paul Ramsay Foundation would sell down part of what in March was a $4bn interest in the company.
The stake has increased in value with Ramsay’s share price this year being on an upward climb. Almost a year ago the shares were trading at only $55.
The Paul Ramsay Foundation inherited a major interest in Ramsay Health Care following the death of its founder, Paul Ramsay in 2014.
At that time, the foundation, which supports charitable causes in Australia aiming to identify the root causes of disadvantage, held about 36 per cent of the health care company. The foundation is headed up by former Melbourne University vice-chancellor Glyn Davis.
The foundation has already sold down some of its interest in 2014, divesting about 2.2 per cent of its shares in a deal worth $224.4m.
At that time, the trade was handled through Deutsche Bank, with the company said to be close to Hong Kong-based banker James McMurdo, who previously worked at Goldman Sachs. Mr McMurdo was last week named as a new director to the Ramsay Healthcare board.
One school of thought had been that foundation could divest half of its interest, which would release about $2bn worth of cash to diversify into other investments.
When the foundation secured the stake it was thought to be worth about $3.3bn.
The block trade is thought to be the largest since Shell sold out of Woodside Petroleum in 2017.
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