(Reuters) -Ramsay Health Care, Australia’s largest private hospital operator, said on Wednesday it received a A$20.05 billion ($14.80 billion) takeover offer from a consortium led by private equity giant KKR & Co.
The proposal of A$88 per share represents a premium of nearly 37% to Ramsay’s Tuesday closing price of A$64.39.
Ramsay operates hospitals and clinics across 10 countries in three continents, with a network of more than 532 locations, according to its website.
The company said it would provide the KKR-led consortium with due diligence on a non-exclusive basis and that talks were at the preliminary stage.
The hospital operator has hired UBS as its financial adviser.
($1 = 1.3546 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Aditya Soni)
