CMS and Travers lead on £1.8bn winning bid for NHS landlord Assura

The months-long takeover battle for Assura, the listed NHS landlord behind a £3.1 billion portfolio of GP surgeries and medical centres, has ended with a win for FTSE 250-listed Primary Health Properties (PHP).

Nearly 63% of Assura’s shareholders backed PHP’s £1.79 billion cash-and-shares bid by the 12 August deadline, with only CMA approval remaining before the deal can complete. Like PHP, Assura is a constituent of the FTSE 250. It also has a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

The deal caps a fierce bidding war that began earlier this year. Assura’s board initially supported a £1.6 billion all-cash offer from a private equity consortium led by KKR and Stonepeak. Both parties then made a series of improved bids, before the board eventually recommended PHP’s final offer made in June. The PE consortium's bid has now lapsed.

Advising

CMS has been advising long-standing client PHP on both the takeover and its financing, led by corporate partner and ECM head Alasdair Steele.

Travers Smith has been advising Assura, with a cross-practice team spanning corporate, real estate, tax, competition, employment and finance. M&A partners Ben Lowen and head of transactions Aaron Stocks led the team.

The KKR-Stonepeak consortium was advised by Simpson Thacher. Bowmans provided advice on South African law matters.