By Cristina Gallardo

KKR and Stonepeak Partners said they will continue to engage with Assura's board about their 1.61 billion-pound ($2.14 billion) recommended offer for the U.K. healthcare-property investor after Primary Health Properties sweetened its rival bid.

On Friday, PHP raised its takeover bid for Assura to 1.68 billion pounds, offering 0.3769 new PHP shares and 12.5 pence in cash for each Assura share.

The consortium said Monday that it believes its offer represents a superior proposal for Assura shareholders and the only one that provides the opportunity to realize their investment in full and in cash.

In April, Assura accepted an all-cash takeover offer from the consortium, known as Sana Bidco, of 49.4 pence a share.

The bidder said the PHP offer would require "significant asset disposals to manage high debt levels, which will constrain the ability of the combined business to grow and make the sustained investments in the estate to support [National Health Service] infrastructure that would be possible under Bidco's ownership."

For instance, PHP would sell the hospital portfolio plus other unidentified assets and the size and scale of these disposals is likely to have significant time and cost implications, the consortium said.

Bringing together PHP and Assura into one entity could also attract scrutiny from the U.K.'s antitrust watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority, Bidco said.

PHP didn't immediately respond to request for comment.

Write to Cristina Gallardo at cristina.gallardo@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 19, 2025 03:36 ET (07:36 GMT)

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