The $400M+ sale of Australia’s largest medical imaging provider to a foreign private equity consortium could be just the tip of the iceberg for legal work from Australia’s valuable life sciences sector.
The I-Med Network, which runs 200 specialist medical imaging clinics across Australia, will be purchased by a consortium of investors led by the Swedish private equity group EQT Mid Market.
Baker & McKenzie acted as M&A legal counsel for EQT Mid Market, with Asia Pacific head of healthcare Ben McLaughlin, and private equity specialist Brendan Wykes working on the deal.
Herbert Smith Freehills, led by partner Mark Currell acted for I-MED and Bill Koeck of
Ashurst advised the major shareholders.
The shareholders were comprised of a consortium of hedge funds and financial institutions, including Anchorage Capital Group, Fortress Investment Group, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse
Ben McLaughlin said the deal is a representation of the influx of foreign companies taking an interest in Australia’s life sciences sectors.
“We are seeing considerable foreign investment interest in Australia’s healthcare industry which ties in with the need for Australia to reduce public healthcare costs,” McLaughlin said.
I-MED‘s clinics account for almost a quarter of the $3 billion Australian diagnostic imaging market, including X-ray and ultrasound.
EQT is a leading private equity group in Northern Europe, with portfolio companies in Northern and Eastern Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR25 billion.
