LONDON (Reuters), Apr 10 - British private healthcare provider BUPA said on Sunday it is in preliminary discussions with potential purchasers of its U.K. hospitals.
"Those discussions may or may not lead to a decision to sell BUPA hospitals. The board is not considering the sale of any other part of the BUPA Group or a change in status of the BUPA Group as a whole," it said in a statement.
The Sunday Times said in an unsourced report that the sale could fetch 1.2 billion pounds ($2.4 billion) or more and the company plans to use the sales proceeds for a big expansion into care homes or for a push overseas.
BUPA, which runs 26 hospitals in the U.K., has appointed Citigroup to handle the sale and private equity groups such as Blackstone [BG.UL] and Cinven [CINV.UL] as well as Australia's Macquarie Bank and French private health group Generale de Sante are likely to show an interest, the report said.
Last Updated: 2007-04-09 10:00:53 -0400 (Reuters Health)
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