Assura board rejects MedicX takeover bid

A £221m takeover bid which would have made Warrington's Assura group part of the biggest healthcare property company in the UK has been formally rejected by its board.

The MedicX Fund, Surrey, had proposed an all-share deal offering one MedicX share for every 2.05 Assura shares, representing an offer price of 40p a share.

The offer – a 10.3% premium to the Assura share price at the time of the offer – would have created a company with a combined market capitalisation greater than £415m and a portfolio of more than £1bn.

MedicX withdrew its offer after Assura's board announced the formal rejection of the deal.

In rejecting the offer, Assura said the approach was "opportunistic", failed to "recognise the existing and potential value of Assura", and was "not in the interests of all shareholders".

"Furthermore, the Proposal effectively attributes no value to Assura's profitable, on-going development pipeline," the group said.

Shares in Assura were trading at 37.25p following the board's announcement.

Assura also released unaudited results for the year to March 31 showing the group returned to a profit of £60.7m against a loss of £14.1m in the same period last time.

Total property assets were up from £549m to £569m with a 9.1% increase in net rental income from £30.9m to £33.7m.

Assura said it was in a strong position following its recent transformation.

"Over the last 18 months, Assura has emerged as a high quality, primary care property company with a new board and senior management team and a restructured balance sheet," the group said.