Ramsay on Qscan bidder list

Ramsay, advised by Macquarie, has been competing for the business with groups including Queensland Investment Corp. Picture: iStock

The competition to buy Quadrant Private Equity’s Qscan radiology business is in the second stage, and Ramsay Health Care is understood to be among the shortlisted bidders.

Ramsay, advised by Macquarie, has been competing for the business with groups including Queensland Investment Corp. Morrison & Co Permira, the private equity firm that owns I-Med, was also in the mix earlier on.

As parties examine Qscan, one of the areas of focus is expected to be the sites that the business jointly occupies with Icon Group. Icon was previously owned by Quadrant and now counts QIC as among its owners. Icon is considered crucial to the growth of Qscan because both parties carry out joint ventures.

Prospective buyers are being told that Qscan generates about $50m of annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, which could increase to $80m and then $90m in the next two years.

Some estimate Qscan could be sold for about $700m, with companies in the healthcare space typically selling for 10-12 times their earnings.

Quadrant is advised by Stanton Road Partners and Citic-CLSA.