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Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX:RHC) has inked a deal which will see it pay $627 million to secure a controlling interest in France's biggest private hospital operator, Générale de Santé.
Australia’s largest private hospital operator has made the purchase in joint venture with an insurance company named Crédit Agricole Assurances.
The deal was first announced last month and will see the JV emerge with an 83.43 per cent stake in the hospital of which Ramsay will own 57 per cent.
The proposed offer price of €16.75 per share values Générale de Santé at about $1.4 billion and would expand Ramsay’s exposure in France.
Though the acquisition is still dependent on regulatory approvals Ramsay expects it be tied up by the end of this year after which it expects to become the largest private hospital operator in France.
Ramsay Health Care reported a net profit of $157 million in the first half of the 2014 financial year.
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