Consolidation is afoot in the healthcare property sector. MedicX (MXF), which owns a portfolio of GP surgeries, wants to buy Assura (AGR), which owns a similar portfolio in an all share deal which values Assura at 40p per share - a premium of 10 per cent.
MedicX has the support of Assura’s main shareholders - the fund managers Invesco and Somerston, who together own 48 per cent of the company - in the form of "irrevocable undertakings" but Invesco's support depends on Assura's board recommending the offer, which seems unlikely at the current price. The premium paltry and is also based on MedicX's shares trading 27 per cent above their adjusted book value, compared with a 4 per cent discount to book value for Assura.
