New Frontier agrees to buy China private hospital operator United Family Healthcare for US$1.44 billion
- The New York-listed shares of New Frontier Corp climbed 0.6 per cent in morning US trade on Tuesday following acquisition announcement
- Purchase by New Frontier Group will create one of the largest listed private health care services companies focused on China
New Frontier Corp, the New York-listed investment arm affiliated with New Frontier Group, has agreed to buy United Family Healthcare for US$1.44 billion to create one of the biggest publicly traded health care service companies in China.
New Frontier will buy the stake in United Family, one of the largest privately-held hospitals on the mainland from private equity firm TPG and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group, according to a press release.
New Frontier will use proceeds from its initial public offering, private placements and loan facilities to fund the acquisition, it said.
China’s ageing demographics at a time of growing demand for an alternative to overcrowded state-funded hospitals have drawn a spotlight on the promising outlook for health care related services.
Our goal is to continue building and growing our integrated health care platform in China
Private hospital revenues grew at an annual compound rate of 25 per cent between 2013 to 2017, according to the National Health Commission of China.