Australia's Ramsay Health Care mulls potential sale of European arm

By Rajasik Mukherjee

(Reuters) - Ramsay Health Care has appointed Goldman Sachs to look at strategic options for its stake in its European division following an internal review, the Australian private hospital operator said on Thursday, hinting at a potential sale.

The decision comes on the heels of management changes made earlier this year, including its group finance chief stepping down with a successor yet to be named and plans to boost the company's core Australian hospital business.

The decision to explore options for Ramsay Sante, the European division, was "in line with the refocus of its strategy".

"There are multiple factors that may influence timing and outcomes of this process. All strategic options need to take into account Ramsay Sante’s shareholding structure," Ramsay Health Care, the country's largest independent hospital operator, said in a statement.

Sante, a private healthcare operator in Europe with its services spread across France, Italy, Norway, among others, has been underperforming for a while now. The division recorded a net loss of 43.1 million euros ($45.11 million) in its half-yearly results earlier this week.

Ramsay Health Care owns around 52.8% of Ramsay Sante while Predica, a unit of French international banking group Credit Agricole, holds 39.8% of ownership.

A potential divestment of Sante would bode well for Ramsay Health Care, said Luke Winchester, portfolio manager at Merewether Capital. "It has been a headache for management for some time, new executive team is in place and they have the opportunity to start fresh."

The Australian parent reported it swung to a first-half net loss with poor results at Ramsay Sante and Elysium weighing on its bottom line.

A sale could also see Ramsay returning some capital to shareholders, added Winchester.

Ramsay's stock closed nearly 7% higher on Thursday, having risen as much as 16.7% earlier in the day, marking its best intraday percentage gain since April, 2022.

($1 = 0.9554 euros)

(Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)