With the shares in Spire Healthcare having largely moved sideways over the past four years the company has put itself \u201cin play\u201d amid frustration among the board and some large agitating shareholders.<\/p>\n
The FTSE 250 healthcare company, advised by Rothschild, said last month that it had begun a formal process to hold discussions with unnamed third parties over its strategic options, including a possible sale.<\/p>\n
Although Spire, whose chairman is the City grandee Sir Ian Cheshire, has warned that the process is \u201chighly preliminary\u201d and that it was not \u201cin receipt\u201d of any approaches, a potential deal is at its most likely since shareholders voted down a \u00a31 billion, 250p per share takeover from its competitor Ramsay Health Care in 2021.<\/p>\n
Spire is one of Britain\u2019s largest independent healthcare companies, running 38 hospitals and about 50 clinics, medical centres and consulting rooms, providing services to both NHS and private patients. It also operates a network of private GPs and provides occupational health services to more than 800 corporate clients.<\/p>\n
The company has long been deemed a takeover target, having rejected a 315\u00bdp cash-and-shares offer from Mediclinic, its largest shareholder, in 2017, four years before the Ramsay offer was rebuffed. <\/p>\n
And with the shares having not traded much above 250p since, frustrations with its valuation led Spire to bemoan at its half-year results in July that its strategic progress, more than \u00a31.4 billion freehold property and \u201cwell-invested\u201d asset base were not yet reflected. It stated then that it would \u201ccontinue to actively evaluate and implement any appropriate action that drives long-term shareholder value\u201d.<\/p>\n
Behind the scenes, some large investors have also been agitating for things to come to a head. <\/p>\n
Harwood Capital, which has a stake of about 5 per cent, has been pressing Spire to appoint advisers to consider its options. Harwood is understood to have had a meeting with the company late last month.<\/p>\n
Toscafund Asset Management, another large shareholder, is understood to be sympathetic to this view and holds about 24.5 per cent, including a position held by Bridgemere Securities, regulatory filings suggest.<\/p>\n