NorthWest Healthcare Properties’ concerted bid to take over Australian Unity Healthcare Property Trust (AUHPT) for $2.8 billion has failed – for now.
It is not the end of NorthWest Healthcare CEO Paul Dalla Lana’s (pictured above) pursuit of AUHPT, the last remaining, scale portfolio of hospital and healthcare assets in the Australian market that remains owned by Australian investors. It has assets of over $2.45 billion.
NorthWest and the Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC has secured a 16% stake in the fund.
In addition, the Canadian business left its cash offer of $2.70 per wholesale unit, $2.76 per retail unit and $1.69 per Class A unit on the table until 23 July as it seeks to bolster its stock in AUHPT by around 30%.
NorthWest Healthcare made four bids to AUHPT but it all came to an end in the NSW Supreme Court on 14 July when the company was informed that unitholders had voted overwhelmingly against the proposal.
- As at 14 July, a total of 3,102 AUHPT unitholders had lodged a proxy vote with Australian Unity Funds Management Limited (AUFM), with approximately 99% of those unitholders voting “against” and only 12 unitholders voting “for” the NorthWest/GIC Proposal.
- As at 14 July, based on the proxy votes received by AUFM, more than 28% of the total units in AUHPT had already voted “against” the NorthWest/GIC Proposal by these unitholders, indicating that the proposed resolution would not be passed at the unitholder meeting scheduled for 19 July.
NorthWest Healthcare had gone to the NSW Supreme Court to try and adjourn the vote until 7 September.
“AUHPT unitholders have been subjected to a concerted campaign of misleading information and it is clear that Australian Unity management have been focused on protecting their own interests rather than the best interests of AUHPT unitholders,” said NorthWest Healthcare President Craig Mitchell.
