A South African healthcare provider is plotting a £1.3bn swoop on Spire Healthcare, Britain’s largest chain of private hospitals.
Mediclinic International is working with advisers from Morgan Stanley on a possible offer, according to City sources. It already has a 29.9% stake in Spire — the maximum that can be held without making an offer for the other shares — having staged a raid on the stock two years ago.
Spire’s shares jumped 6% on Friday to 261.3p amid escalating rumours that a deal could be in the pipeline. The company operates more than 50 hospitals and clinics across Britain, plus a sports training centre. It makes one-third of its revenues from the health service, mainly by providing overspill capacity.
Spire was floated on the