EQT buys restructured I-Med from hedge fund owners

According to The Sydney Moring Herald, I-Med's current backers - a 25-strong group of investors led by US hedge funds Anchorage Capital and Fortis Investment - were approached by EQT following the company's A$240 million ($216 million) debt refinancing in November. The deal marks EQT's first investment in Australia.

The EQT consortium - which also includes Canadian pension giant Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC Private - expects the deal to close by July, pending due diligence.

The hedge fund consortium took control of I-Med from CVC Capital Partners in 2011 in a loan-to-own deal after the firm's debt ballooned to $900 million. Allegro Funds led the corporate restructuring and refinancing of the company's debt in November in a deal with a local bank consortium and Morgan Stanley.

I-Med has an estimated market value of about A$600 million and saw its EBITDA grow to A$79 million in the 2013 financial year, up from A$54 million the previous year.

Other healthcare investments by EQT - which is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden - include Southeast Asian aged care provider Econ Healthcare, Finnish private hospital operator Terveystalo and dental chain Swiss Smile.

Last month EQT reached a final close of EUR1.1 billion ($1.48 billion) on its EQT Mid Market fund, a vehicle which focuses on middle market buyouts and growth equity investments in Greater China, Southeast Asia and Northern Europe.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Healthcare
• Buyout
• EQT Partners
• Australia
• healthcare
• buyout