The equity investor has reportedly agreed to a purchase price valuing Opal HealthCare at "significantly" more than $2 billion and secured "exclusivity" over a 50% stake in the company, which is jointly owned by Singaporean investment vehicle GK Goh Holdings and AMP Capital.
The acquisition, if it goes ahead, will form part of PEP's Secure Assets Fund II, worth $1.4 billion, which also owns a 47.5% stake in land lease communities business Serenitas.
Opal HealthCare is Australia's largest residential aged care provider, with 133 aged care homes in NSW, Victoria, QLD, WA, and SA, after the acquisition of 31 homes in Victoria from BlueCross.
Paul Foster, Managing Director of Pacific Equity Partners (PEP), who was previously head of infrastructure at AMP Capital and sat on Opal HealthCare's board at that time. Paul has been leading leading PEP's negotiations to buy the Opal HealthCare stake.
Opal HealthCare has arguably the most aggressive aged care expansion strategy in Australia. As well as the BlueCross acquisition, after the Government released its aged care reform package the provider announced it would proceed with building four new homes: at Narwee and St Ives in Sydney, NSW, and Brighton and Caulfield in Melbourne, Victoria.
Originally Domain Principal Group, Opal HealthCare was then owned by AMP Capital Investors. In 2013, AMP sold 47.6% of the company to Asian tycoon Goh Geok Khim's Singapore-listed GK Goh investment company. GK Goh considered selling a portion of its stake 2017, but held on.
In 2023, Opal HealthCare reported revenue of $1.24 billion, and a loss of $65 million. The previous year, the company reported revenue of $941 million and a loss of $55 million.
A spokesperson for Opal HealthCare told The SOURCE that the provider had "no comment".
Morgan Stanley and Herbert Smith have been advising Opal HealthCare and Jefferies and Allens have been working with PEP
