“I just think it demonstrates we can do something similar, albeit a little bit different. Both companies have got a great record and will continue to have a great record, we just want to be greater.”Healthscope CEO Robert Cooke said he has “a lot of respect” for both Ramsay and pathology and medical centre operator Sonic Healthcare. Photo: Nic Walker
Healthscope will list on the sharemarket at a 9 per cent discount to Ramsay Health Care on a price-to-earnings multiple basis, but chief executive Robert Cooke says he welcomes comparisons to the market leader because it illustrates the company’s growth potential.
Following a bookbuild with institutional investors that finished at midday on Thursday, Healthscope’s private equity vendors TPG and The Carlyle Group settled on a listing price of $2.10, sources said.
At that price, Healthscope will begin trading on a multiple of 21.9 times forecast net profit for the 2015 financial year. This compares with Ramsay, which trades on a multiple of about 24-times.
The Healthscope float will be the biggest since the 2010 privatisation of QR National, now known as Aurizon. The Melbourne-based company runs 44 private hospitals, as well as medical centres and pathology operations.