In an effort to refocus its business plan, Healthscope is selling Asia Pacific Healthcare Group (APHG), its New Zealand pathology business. With 25 laboratories, over 2,000 staff, and 150 collection centers throughout the country, APHG performed over 6.7 million pathology patient episodes across New Zealand in 2019. The group has also been heavily involved in providing testing as part of New Zealand’s response to COVID-19. Healthscope is the second-largest private hospital operator in Australia
The buyers are the New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZ Super Fund), which invests money on behalf of the New Zealand government to help pay for the increased cost of universal pension entitlements in the future, and The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, the administrator of Canada’s largest single-profession pension plan. The pair paid $362.5 million for APHG (NZD550 million), with each taking a 50% stake.
The transaction will allow Healthscope to continue its long-term strategic refocus on its Australian hospital operations. According to DSO, back in July 2018, Healthscope sold its Asian pathology business to TPG for $206.5 million and its Australian pathology business to Crescent Capital for $105 million way back in 2015.
In January 2019, Brookfield Business Partners L.P. acquired Healthscope for $4.14 billion, including $1 billion of equity. Concurrent with that deal, Healthscope announced a transaction with NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT and Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: MPW) to acquire the assets of 22 wholly-owned hospitals for $1.7 billion.
