Latest news with #EdSmith
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
US private equity giant KKR outbids rival with £1.7bn offer for Assura
NHS landlord Assura has backed a takeover bid from US private equity giant KKR after raising its offer to £1.7 billion. Assura said it had reached an agreement on a 'best and final' bid led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Stonepeak Partners. The medical property firm sparked a bidding war when it said it had agreed to be bought by the consortium back in April for a takeover price of £1.61 billion. But healthcare investor Primary Health Properties (PHP) then swooped in with a higher bid worth £1.68 billion, saying its offer was 'compelling'. Both bidders have upped their offers several times to try and clinch a deal. Assura owns more than 600 buildings, including doctors' surgeries, with a portfolio valued at around £3.1 billion. It has about 80 members of staff. The improved bid from KKR and Stonepeak offers 52.1p for each Assura share – valuing the entire company at about £1.7 billion. Assura said it was recommending the offer to shareholders and advised that they 'take no action' in relation to PHP's approach. Ed Smith, Assura's chairman, said the decision followed a 'careful and thorough evaluation of both offers'. 'KKR and Stonepeak are highly experienced investors in healthcare and infrastructure and I am confident that with their support, and the additional capital they will provide, Assura will continue to deliver the high-quality healthcare infrastructure our communities need,' he said. KKR has been under the spotlight recently for pulling out of a possible rescue deal to inject much-needed cash into Thames Water, Britain's biggest water supplier. Thames had chosen KKR at the end of March to be its preferred bidder under plans to invest around £4 billion of new equity to help keep the financially stricken company afloat. But Thames Water said KKR was not 'in a position to proceed' with any offer.
IOL News
a day ago
- Business
- IOL News
Sana Bidco raises final offer for Assura to £1. 7bn as board withdraws support for rival PHP bid
Assura, a leading UK healthcare real estate investment trust, on Tuesday accepted a sweetened, best and final cash offer from private equity-backed Sana Bidco, valuing the company at approximately £1.7 billion (R41bn). Image: File Assura, a leading UK healthcare real estate investment trust, on Tuesday accepted a sweetened, best and final cash offer from private equity-backed Sana Bidco, valuing the company at approximately £1.7 billion (R41bn). Assura is listed on the London Stock Exchange with a secondry listing on the JSE. The deal comes after a brief bidding war with Primary Health Properties (PHP), which has now been effectively sidelined. Sana Bidco - a consortium formed by US private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and infrastructure investor Stonepeak - increased its cash offer to 50.42 pence per share, up from its original bid announced on April 9. Including declared dividends of 1.68 pence, the offer values Assura shares at 52.1 pence, representing a 39.2% premium over the pre-offer closing price on February 13. It values the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Assura at approximately £1.7bn on a fully diluted basis. In a statement, Assura said the revised terms are now unanimously recommended by its board, following a 'careful and thorough' evaluation of the rival PHP bid, which was announced in May and offered a mix of shares and cash. "The Board's decision to recommend the offer from KKR and Stonepeak follows a careful and thorough evaluation of both offers, during which the Board has been firmly focused on its fiduciary duty to shareholders," said Assura's non-executive chair Ed Smith. "KKR and Stonepeak are highly experienced investors in healthcare and infrastructure and I am confident that with their support, and the additional capital they will provide, Assura will continue to deliver the high-quality healthcare infrastructure our communities need." Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Certainty Over Synergies The board cited several concerns over PHP's proposal, saying it "presents material risks and downsides to Assura shareholders, which undermine the potential benefits of the proposed combination under the PHP offer". Concerns including: Elevated leverage " significantly exceeding the target loan-to-value ratios of both Assura and PHP" , , Execution risk: The Assura Board noted the intention of PHP to reduce leverage of the combined group through asset disposals, including that of Assura's portfolio of UK private hospitals. Reduced exposure to long-dated, inflation-linked leases. The PHP offer would have involved asset disposals, notably Assura's private hospital portfolio, to manage debt – a move the Assura board viewed as high-risk and potentially value-destructive. The Assura board said it believes that Bidco's best and final increased cash offer provides the certainty of cash today to Assura shareholders, alongside long-term capital to fund significant investment in the UK's healthcare infrastructure and support investments in the NHS estate. The Bidco offer now moves forward via a traditional takeover offer under the Companies Act, replacing the previously proposed scheme of arrangement. The switch allows Bidco to move quicker and provides more deal certainty. To succeed, Bidco must secure over 50% of Assura's share capital, a threshold it aims to surpass with acceptances and acquisitions. With the board's full support, a higher cash price, and diminishing prospects for the PHP proposal, the path appears clear for Bidco to take control of one of the UK's most prominent healthcare landlords in the coming weeks. BUSINESS REPORT Visit:
India Gazette
08-05-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
Former England selector Ed Smith appoined as next MCC president
London [UK], May 8 (ANI): Former England selector Ed Smith has been named MCC's next president. He will serve a 12-month term, taking up the post on October 1 this year. His appointment was announced by the current president, Lord King of Lothbury, at the Club's Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at Lord's. Following his appointment, Smith expressed his delight and vowed to serve MCC to the best of his ability. 'It is a huge honour to succeed Lord King as president of MCC. Lord's has been a special part of my life - as a cricket fan, a player and then as a selector. I am deeply committed to serving the Club - and the whole game - to the best of my ability,' he said in a statement released by the MCC. The current MCC president, Lord King, said, 'The choice of my successor meets the twin criteria of being an outstanding first-class cricketer who played for England and a highly intelligent author and educator who is ideally equipped to help MCC navigate the challenges ahead. It is with enormous pleasure that I nominate Ed Smith as the President of MCC from 1 October 2025.' During his playing days, Smith played for Kent, Middlesex and England in a career that spanned 13 seasons. During this period, he scored nearly 13,000 first-class runs, including 34 centuries. He also played for Cambridge University, graduating with a double first in History. After announcing his retirement from the game in 2008, he embarked on a career in the media and wrote five books. He has also worked as a presenter on both radio and television. In 2018, he became chief selector for the England men's team. During his stint that lasted for three years, England won the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup for the first time and enjoyed success across all formats. Along with this, Smith is also involved in academia, as co-founder of the Institute of Sports Humanities (ISH), which has a mission to nurture and inspire sport's current and future leaders. ISH teaches the MA Leadership in Sport in partnership with Loughborough University London. During his one-year tenure, the Lord's will stage the final of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 and will host its first women's Test cricket for the first time between India and England. (ANI)
NDTV
08-05-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
Former England Selector Ed Smith Appoined As Next MCC President
Former England selector Ed Smith has been named MCC's next president. He will serve a 12-month term, taking up the post on October 1 this year. His appointment was announced by the current president, Lord King of Lothbury, at the Club's Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at Lord's. Following his appointment, Smith expressed his delight and vowed to serve MCC to the best of his ability. "It is a huge honour to succeed Lord King as president of MCC. Lord's has been a special part of my life - as a cricket fan, a player and then as a selector. I am deeply committed to serving the Club - and the whole game - to the best of my ability," he said in a statement released by the MCC. The current MCC president, Lord King, said, "The choice of my successor meets the twin criteria of being an outstanding first-class cricketer who played for England and a highly intelligent author and educator who is ideally equipped to help MCC navigate the challenges ahead. It is with enormous pleasure that I nominate Ed Smith as the President of MCC from 1 October 2025." During his playing days, Smith played for Kent, Middlesex and England in a career that spanned 13 seasons. During this period, he scored nearly 13,000 first-class runs, including 34 centuries. He also played for Cambridge University, graduating with a double first in History. After announcing his retirement from the game in 2008, he embarked on a career in the media and wrote five books. He has also worked as a presenter on both radio and television. In 2018, he became chief selector for the England men's team. During his stint that lasted for three years, England won the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup for the first time and enjoyed success across all formats. Along with this, Smith is also involved in academia, as co-founder of the Institute of Sports Humanities (ISH), which has a mission to nurture and inspire sport's current and future leaders. ISH teaches the MA Leadership in Sport in partnership with Loughborough University London. During his one-year tenure, the Lord's will stage the final of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 and will host its first women's Test cricket for the first time between India and England. Listen to the latest songs, only on
BBC News
30-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Scarborough Hospital's new emergency care centre set to open
A new £47m Urgent and Emergency Care Centre (UECC) at Scarborough Hospital will open its doors to A&E patients on facility brings the emergency department under the same roof as critical care and enhanced care, while vital diagnostics like CT scans are also on has taken three years to build the new centre, which has a space for urgent and emergency care that is almost a third larger than the existing Ed Smith, who led the development on behalf of York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said it would make a "significant difference" to patients. When the existing A&E opened in 1985 it dealt with about 15,000 patients each year - but that has since grown to about 70, Smith said it had become "very congested" and was "no longer fit for purpose".The UECC has been designed to treat patients more efficiently by having the right experts and state-of-the art equipment in one location."We want to care for patients in dignified locations, not in corridors or queues on corridors, and we think that this new estate will allow us to do that," Dr Smith said."It won't be perfect because patients will still arrive in large numbers at particular times of the day and the week - but we think it will make a big difference." The two-storey building has 3,120 square metres of space on each floor - with urgent and emergency care at ground level and a 26-bed facility for critical and enhanced care above Smith said it would "transform" the way patients were managed, with clinicians able to make quicker decisions about treatment."We want to keep patients out of hospital where we can, but when we need to get them into hospital we need to do that quickly and efficiently with the minimum of fuss and queueing and waiting," he said."So, that's what we think we're going to be able to deliver with this estate."The centre opens to A&E patients at 08:00 BST on Thursday as part of a phased opening of services across the UECC had been expected to open last autumn but that had to be delayed due to a faulty boiler. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
