Capio offer goes unconditional

Opica, an investment vehicle owned by private equity firms Apax Partners and Nordic Capital, has declared its €1.83bn ($2.33bn) offer for Swedish healthcare business Capio unconditional.

The consortium is understood to have already arranged for the disposal of Capio’s UK business of more than 20 hospitals with separate buyers set to buy the property and operating elements of the business.

Apax Partners and Nordic Capital originally made a €1.67bn unsolicited offer for Capio in early September which was rejected by the company’s board as undervaluing the business.

However, the hostile approached opened Capio up to a number of other approaches from private equity firms, believed to include The Blackstone Group, Cinven and CVC Capital Partners, before Apax Partners and Nordic Capital made its revised bid of Skr167 per Capio share, valuing the deal at €1.83bn.

By 31 October, the offer had received acceptances from 96.04% of shareholders. Opica also acquired 1.63% of shares on the open market, bringing the total shares in Capio tendered in the offer and acquired on the open market to 99,514,878 shares, representing 97.67% of shares and votes in the business.

Apax Partners and Nordic capital said that they may acquire additional Capio shares in the open market, but will carry out a compulsory acquisition process to acquire the remaining shares and will de-list the company from the Stockholm Stock Exchange. As part of this process, the acceptance period for tendering of shares has been extended to 1 December.

Apax Partners owns 56% of Opica though its Apax Europe VI fund, with Nordic Capital’s Fund VI holding the balance.

Morgan Stanley advised Capio on the offer, with Deutsche Bank advising Nordic Capital and Rothschild, ABN AMRO and PK Partners advising Apax Partners.