Takeover panel agrees to extend consortium’s Assura bid deadline

The stock market’s Takeover Panel has agreed to extend the deadline for a consortium to decide whether or not to acquire Altrincham-based healthcare property business, Assura.

On Monday this week (March 10) the consortium of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Stonepeak, made a fifth improved offer which values Assura at £1.6bn.

Assura said it was “minded to recommend” the offer to its shareholders.

The 49.4p per share cash offer is a 2.9% increase on KKR’s previous proposal of 48p.

Both KKR and Stonepeak, long term infrastructure investors, said they will deploy further capital to the portfolio to continue its growth.

The process faced a 5pm deadline today for the suitors to either announce a firm intention to make an offer, or walk away.

But the Assura board has requested an extension to allow further discussions between all parties and for the consortium to progress its due diligence process.

In response, the consortium has now been granted an extension to 5pm on April 11, 2025.

This revised deadline may only be extended further at the request of the board and with the consent of the Takeover Panel.

A rival offer to merge with Primary Health Properties – also a healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT) which would have valued Assura shares at 43p – has been rejected.

The Assura board said the cash offer from KKR is “more attractive than the PHP proposal as it provides shareholders with the opportunity to receive cash consideration at a significantly higher value per share than the proposal from PHP and with materially less risk.”

PHP now has until 5pm on April 7, 2025, to make an offer for Assura.

When the deadline extension was announced this afternoon Assura shares rose to almost 46.60p per share, before falling to 46.52p shortly after.

Russ Mould, investment director at Manchester investment platform, AJ Bell, said, at this level, it suggests that the market does not believer PHP will return with an improved offer, or, indeed, the KKR consortium approach is a done deal.