Assura urged to reject bid from predator KKR
Assura this week recommended that shareholders accept a sweetened £1.7billion bid from American buyout giant KKR and New York investment firm Stonepeak.
The deal would see properties leased to the NHS, including doctors' surgeries, hospitals and hospices, fall into the hands of overseas owners.
Most recently, Primary Health Properties (PHP) offered £1.68billion to buy Assura but it argued yesterday that its cash and stock bid is now worth more – as the value moves depending on share prices.
And PHP dismissed Assura's claim that its offer posed 'material risks and downsides' for shareholders as it urged investors to take no action in relation to KKR's bid.
A takeover by PHP would retain the properties under the ownership of a London-listed business. And it said Government spending plans for the NHS over the next three years would benefit both firms.
KKR and PHP have been locked in a months-long tussle which has seen both parties
up their offers several times since February to try to clinch a deal.
The US private equity giant has made a 'best and final' cash offer of £1.7billion, up from its previous bid of £1.61billion.
The bid of 52.1p per share includes two dividends: one which has already been paid and another that was declared last month.
Russ Mould, investment director at broker AJ Bell, said: 'Shareholders in Assura now have the luxury of sitting back to watch what happens, in the view that some sort of deal seems certain.'
Assura declined to comment.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
10 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
‘Hundreds of sick children to be evacuated from Gaza for NHS treatment in UK'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) HUNDREDS of ill and injured children are to be evacuated from war-torn Gaza for NHS treatment in the UK under plans set to be announced within weeks. Up to 300 children will enter the country to receive much-needed, free medical care, a source claims, as the harrowing humanitarian crisis continues to grow. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Crowds form as Palestinians, including children, line up in Gaza City, Gaza to receive food distributed by a charity Credit: Getty 4 Nine-year-old malnourished Palestinian girl Mariam Dawwas gets her hair comed by her mother as she sits with her on the floor Credit: AFP 4 Hundreds of ill and injured children are to be evacuated from war-torn Gaza for NHS treatment Credit: Alamy A senior Whitehall source told The Sunday Times the plan will operate "in parallel" with a scheme run by humanitarian initiative Project Pure Hope. The project was set up by volunteer medical professionals to bring sick and injured Palestinian children to the UK for treatment. Just three children have been given medical visas since the war began in October 2023. The plans approvals come after months of work done by the initiative that is funded by private donations. read more news SUBS SNUB Russia dismisses Trump's warning of sending nuclear subs closer to country It has been nearly a week since Israel, under international pressure amid growing scenes of starving children, announced limited humanitarian pauses and airdrops meant to get more food to Gaza. The population of over two million people now largely rely on aid to survive. But the UN has said far too little aid is coming in, with months of supplies piled up outside Gaza waiting for Israeli approval. Trucks that enter are mostly stripped of supplies by desperate people and criminal groups before reaching warehouses for distribution. Experts this week said a worst-case scenario of famine was occurring. On Saturday, Gaza's health ministry said seven Palestinians had died of malnutrition-related causes over the past 24 hours, including a child. Israel to allow foreign aid to parachute into Gaza but continues bombardment despite growing global pleas for ceasefire The UN has said 500 to 600 trucks of aid are needed daily. Families of the 50 hostages still in Gaza fear they are going hungry too, and blame Hamas, after the militants released images of an emaciated hostage, Evyatar David. Hamas has said it will never lay guns down unless an independent Palestinian state is established and its capital is Jerusalem. The militant group said it was giving a statement "in response to media reports quoting US envoy Steve Witkoff, claiming [Hamas] has shown willingness to disarm". It said: "We reaffirm that resistance and its arms are a legitimate national and legal right as long as the occupation continues. "This right is recognised by international laws and norms, and it cannot be relinquished except through the full restoration of our national rights - first and foremost, the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital." It comes as at least 51 people - including 27 aid workers - have been killed so far on Saturday in Israeli attacks across Gaza. Over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the devastating war on Gaza amid a deepening hunger crisis - coupled with Israel's cruel blockade of aid deliveries.
The Sun
10 minutes ago
- The Sun
‘Hundreds of sick children to be evacuated from Gaza for NHS treatment in UK'
HUNDREDS of ill and injured children are to be evacuated from war-torn Gaza for NHS treatment in the UK under plans set to be announced within weeks. Up to 300 children will enter the country to receive much-needed, free medical care, a source claims, as the harrowing humanitarian crisis continues to grow. 4 4 A senior Whitehall source told The Sunday Times the plan will operate "in parallel" with a scheme run by humanitarian initiative Project Pure Hope. The project was set up by volunteer medical professionals to bring sick and injured Palestinian children to the UK for treatment. Just three children have been given medical visas since the war began in October 2023. The plans approvals come after months of work done by the initiative that is funded by private donations. It has been nearly a week since Israel, under international pressure amid growing scenes of starving children, announced limited humanitarian pauses and airdrops meant to get more food to Gaza. The population of over two million people now largely rely on aid to survive. But the UN has said far too little aid is coming in, with months of supplies piled up outside Gaza waiting for Israeli approval. Trucks that enter are mostly stripped of supplies by desperate people and criminal groups before reaching warehouses for distribution. Experts this week said a worst-case scenario of famine was occurring. On Saturday, Gaza's health ministry said seven Palestinians had died of malnutrition-related causes over the past 24 hours, including a child. Israel to allow foreign aid to parachute into Gaza but continues bombardment despite growing global pleas for ceasefire The UN has said 500 to 600 trucks of aid are needed daily. Families of the 50 hostages still in Gaza fear they are going hungry too, and blame Hamas, after the militants released images of an emaciated hostage, Evyatar David. Hamas has said it will never lay guns down unless an independent Palestinian state is established and its capital is Jerusalem. The militant group said it was giving a statement "in response to media reports quoting US envoy Steve Witkoff, claiming [Hamas] has shown willingness to disarm". It said: "We reaffirm that resistance and its arms are a legitimate national and legal right as long as the occupation continues. "This right is recognised by international laws and norms, and it cannot be relinquished except through the full restoration of our national rights - first and foremost, the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital." It comes as at least 51 people - including 27 aid workers - have been killed so far on Saturday in Israeli attacks across Gaza. Over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the devastating war on Gaza amid a deepening hunger crisis - coupled with Israel's cruel blockade of aid deliveries. 4
The Sun
10 minutes ago
- The Sun
Angela Rayner's department spends thousands in taxpayers' cash on woke diversity training
ANGELA Rayner's department has spent thousands of pounds of taxpayers' cash on woke diversity training. Her housing department splashed £47,272 on the coaching — including nearly £5,000 to a firm that advises on the dangers of banter at work. Inclusive Employers Ltd teaches how to 'decolonise the workplace' and offers 'inclusion allies' training. The Deputy PM's department refused to give full details of what this training involved when quizzed in parliamentary questions. But the company provides courses on unconscious bias and micro aggressions, according to its website. It warns workplace 'banter, when unchecked, can escalate into harmful behaviour including bullying, harassment and discrimination'. The website also provides tips on how to 'navigate the anti-woke backlash' and suggests many Baby Boomers are anti-woke. It states boomers 'may be uncomfortable with the rapid shifts and evolving language associated with being woke' and have a 'nostalgia for the values and beliefs' of the past. The Tories, who helped to uncover the near £50,000 spend, bashed it as a waste of taxpayers' cash. Shadow cabinet office minister Mike Wood said: 'Angela Rayner seems determined to push through her divisive Equality, Diversity and Inclusion agenda by any means necessary — even though it's clearly not in the national interest. 'This is part of a wider pattern of taxpayers' money wasted across Whitehall under Labour on woke virtue-signalling. It must be stopped.' Ms Rayner is in charge of steering the new Employment Rights Bill, which massively beefs up the powers of trade unions, through parliament. Angela Rayner says lifting 2-child benefit cap not 'silver bullet' for ending poverty after demanding cuts for millions It will force businesses to recognise union 'equality representatives' and let them have paid time off for their trade union work. A government spokesman said: 'The vast majority of this spend went on accredited, practical training to help managers better support disabled colleagues.' 1
