Allens advises Healthscope on sale of Australian pathology business

Allens has acted for one of Australia's leading private healthcare operators, Healthscope Limited, on the sale of its Australian pathology operations to Crescent Capital Partners for $105 million.

Healthscope's Australian Pathology operations consist of approximately 550 collection centres and 31 pathology laboratories located in Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and the Northern Territory.

The sale will also see Healthscope transfer six skin clinics to Crescent.

The deal was announced to the market on 23 June 2015 and is expected to be completed in July 2015.

The Allens team on the matter was led by Partner-elect Emin Altiparmak with support from Partner and co-head of the firm's Private Equity practice Mark Malinas. The team also comprised partners and lawyers from the firm's Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane offices.

Emin said that the carve-out of this business was complex and it was critical for Healthscope to have it done well and on time.

'We are very pleased that Healthscope has again trusted us to work alongside them on this strategic divestment, which will now allow the group to focus on driving growth in its core businesses.'

Mark said this deal was part of a continuing trend that has seen heavy private equity interest in the Australian healthcare sector.

'We have seen significant deals in this sector involving private equity, in particular in the area of retirement homes and hospitals. This deal indicates that private equity appetite for Australian healthcare assets is still there.'

Ends