Minters stands up to credit crisis
AGAINST THE backdrop of the sub-prime credit crisis, Minter Ellison has finalised complex financial structuring of a hostile healthcare acquisition. The completed financing underwrites the
AGAINST THE backdrop of the sub-prime credit crisis, Minter Ellison has finalised complex financial structuring of a hostile healthcare acquisition.
The completed financing underwrites the Primary Health Care’s $3.56 billion acquisition of Symbion Health limited.
With a combined enterprise value of $5.1 billion, the deal will see Primary reach the ASX top 100 companies list.
Representing lead banks Credit Suisse, nabCapital, ABN AMRO, Calyon, and Deutsche bank, Minters worked to help the group jointly underwrite acquisitions facilities of $2.318 billion to finance Primary’s takeover.
With no other firms involved in the financing, lead partner John Mosley was assisted by M&A partner Ron Forster and tax partners Nathan Deveson and Karen Payne.
Mosley said the success of the sub-underwriting phase demonstrates that funding is still available for large M&A transactions where the deal fundamentals makes sense.
“The debt financing was negotiated, underwritten, funded and syndicated against a backdrop of a hostile takeover battle and deteriorating global financial and share markets stemming from the sub-prime credit crisis,” he said.
The deal, said Mosley, ticks all of the boxes in terms of the stability of the market sector: “Combined with an appropriate debt structure, the deal demonstrates that it is still possible to get large financings away in this market if the deal fundamentals stack up.”
Outside the financing, the acquisition was also assisted by Clayton Utz who acted for Symbian, and Mallesons Stephen Jaques, who acted for Primary Health Care.