By Stuart Condie

SYDNEY--Shares in Ramsay Health Care Ltd. jumped to a near record high after the Australian private-hospital operator received a takeover proposal from a KKR & Co. Inc.-led consortium.

Ramsay on Wednesday said the consortium submitted a non-binding indicative proposal worth A$88.00 per share in cash. That represents a 37% premium to Tuesday's closing share price of A$64.39 and values the company's equity at 20.1 billion Australian dollars (US$14.9 billion).

The stock jumped as much as 30% in early trade to A$83.55, nearing the A$84.08 reached in September 2016. It was recently up 27% at A$82.05, making it the best-performing ASX 200 stock.

Ramsay disclosed the proposal following what it called media speculation, noting that the consortium requested the proposal be kept confidential and could now withdraw. The ASX-listed company opened its books to the consortium on a non-exclusive basis.

Ramsay said it was continuing to explore the potential sale of its Asian joint venture, Ramsay Sime Darby. Ramsay and partner Sime Darby Holdings Bhd. last month received a takeover proposal from IHH Healthcare Bhd. at a conditional enterprise value of about US$1.35 billion.

Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 19, 2022 20:43 ET (00:43 GMT)

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