(Reuters) -Britain’s competition regulator said on Wednesday it has initiated a probe into the $2.4 billion purchase of British healthcare real estate investor Assura by rival Primary Health Properties.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was considering whether the deal could lead to “substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services.”
PHP, which completed the takeover in August after a months-long battle with U.S. private equity firm KKR, declined to comment.
The PHP deal valued Assura at 53.3 pence per share, comprising 0.3865 new PHP shares, 12.5 pence in cash per share, and a special dividend of 0.84 pence.
Assura manages over 600 healthcare properties, and its customers include Britain’s state-backed National Health Service.
The CMA has set a deadline of October 29 for its decision on the initial probe, or phase 1 inquiry.
(Reporting by DhanushVignesh Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Eileen Soreng)
