Ramsay Health gets $20bn takeover offer from KKR consortium

Australian private hospital group Ramsay Health Care said on Wednesday that it had received an unsolicited AUD20.1bn takeover bid from a consortium led by private equity firm KKR.

Shares in the company surged as much as 30% after it said it had received a cash offer at AUD88 a share, which is a 37% premium to the closing share price on Tuesday.

Ramsay said it was letting the consortium carry out non-exclusive due diligence.

"The discussions between Ramsay and the consortium are preliminary in nature," it said, adding that there was no guarantee that any further proposal will be forthcoming.