March 30 (Reuters) – Australian asset manager HMC Capital Ltd (HMC.AX) said on Thursday it will buy 11 private hospitals from U.S.-based Medical Properties Trust (MPW.N) for A$1.20 billion ($802.08 million).
The hospitals are currently managed by Healthscope, the second-largest private hospital operator in Australia.
HMC Capital, earlier known as Home Consortium, will raise A$320 million to fund the deal and plans to split the properties between its listed entity – Healthco Healthcare and Wellness REIT (HCW.AX) – and a newly created healthcare fund.
Medical Properties had acquired the 11 hospitals in Australia from Healthscope back in 2019 for $859 million, but leased them back to the private hospital operator to manage daily operations.
Based in Birmingham, Alabama, Medical Properties Trust is the second-largest non-governmental owner of hospitals in the world with properties across the U.S., UK, Switzerland, Germany and Australia, according to its website.
($1 = 1.4961 Australian dollars)
Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee and Jaskiran Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath
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