UnitingCare joins hospital feeding frenzy as Healthscope carve-up gains pace

McGrathNicol is expected to receive first-round offers by July 7 and due diligence takes place in August. Picture: Nadir Kinani

UnitingCare Australia is the latest not-for-profit group linked to the sale process for collapsed private hospital operator Healthscope.

DataRoom understands that UnitingCare’s focus is on Queensland assets, where Health­scope owns Sunnybank Private Hospital, Gold Coast Hospital and the Pine Rivers Private Hospital.

It comes as sources say that landlord NorthWest Healthcare Properties is close to Pacific ­Equity Partners, which owns private hospital operator Healthe Care and has been tipped as an interested party. It could suggest that PEP bids for hospitals operating at 11 of Healthscope’s sites.

The understanding is a number of the not-for-profits are still establishing how they play the Healthscope sale process.

Catholic hospital operator Calvary, advised by Jefferies, is believed to be the most focused on the opportunity.

Ramsay Health Care is understood to be interested in about five hospitals, likely to include the Nat­ional Capital Private Hospital, Darwin Private Hospital and Gold Coast Private Hospital.

This could see the country’s largest private hospital operator write out a cheque of about $200m to secure the assets.

One challenge will be addressing the legal action with the Ashford and Adelaide Hospitals being taken by the South ­Australian government over ­contracts.

As earlier reported by this column, receiver McGrathNicol was expected to receive first-round offers by July 7 before due diligence takes place in August and final bids land in September.

Crucial to Healthscope’s success will be a restructuring of its debt, a reset of its rents and better payment terms with health insurance providers.

As earlier reported, Mercury Capital and Genesis Capital have eyed some of the mental health facilities but are understood to be opportunistic in their approach.

Of the not-for-profit operators, St Vincent’s was also interested, along with St John of God.

Assisting McGrathNicol with the sale process is Houlihan Lokey, after providing earlier advice to Healthscope’s lenders.

Anyone who takes on Healthscope would need an estimated $400m to pay for its capital spending needs, some suggest.

Brookfield launched a sale process for Healthscope in March when the business it bought in 2019 for $4.4bn was unable to pay its rent or debt repayments.

The group sold 24 hospital properties to finance the deal in 2019 for $2bn, with the landlords of those assets now being Northwest Properties REIT and the interests of HMC Capital, including its HealthCo Healthcare and Wellness REIT.