According to the Anglo-Saxon press, the investment fund is preparing an offer to buy the health network.
Could the Ramsay Santé clinics go under the American flag? According to the Anglo-Saxon press, the investment fund KKR is preparing an offer of 13.6 billion euros to buy their parent company: the Australian group Ramsay Health Care, which owns a network of 532 hospitals and clinics in ten countries and employs 86,000 people. With 10 billion dollars in turnover last year, Ramsay Health Care (19% owned by the founder’s family, it also has BlackRock and Vanguard funds in its capital) is a global heavyweight in health.
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This project confirms the appetite of investors for this sector, and in particular for private clinics, which has become a veritable El Dorado. In Europe, Ramsay Santé (52.5% owned by Ramsay Health Care and 39.8% by Predica, the insurance subsidiary of Crédit Agricole) achieved a turnover of 4 billion euros last year and has 36,000 employees in 5 countries. The European division of the group, which bought Générale de Santé in 2014, changed in scope at the end of 2018 by getting its hands on the Swedish company Sapio. This acquisition allowed it to establish itself as a European giant.
A favorable reception from the markets
On Monday, the markets welcomed the rumors surrounding this operation. The title of Ramsay Santé gained more than 5% to 22.70 euros. With this operation on Ramsay, KKR, which has several holdings in France (Qonto, Cegid, Ornikar, etc.), could find itself in a delicate situation in France. In July 2020, the American fund became the largest shareholder (42%) of Elsan, France’s number two in private hospitalization, alongside Ardian, Axa, CNP and Téthys Invest, the holding company of the Bettencourt family.
But Ramsay Santé, which holds more than 20% of the market, and Elsan are neck and neck in France, where Ramsay holds 132 clinics. After a possible takeover of Ramsay Health Care, KKR would find it difficult to envisage a merger of Ramsay Health with Elsan. Competition authorities, public authorities and other shareholders could prevent it…