French company Infravia to buy Mater Private

French company Infravia is buying hospital group Mater Private from US fund Harbourvest in a deal thought to value the business at about €500 million.

Infravia confirmed on Thursday that it had agreed to buy Mater Private from Harbourvest, in what will be the hospital’s second change of ownership in less than a year.

Infravia's statement did not include a price, but the previous owner, Capvest, came close to selling the business in 2016 for €500 million to German bidder Fresenius, which pulled out for strategic reasons.

Capvest sold the fund that included the Mater Private and Valeo Foods to Harbourvest in October 2017. At the time reports stated that investors in the assets shared €200 million as a result.

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Almost two years ago Capvest refinanced the hospital group’s €300 million debt with Australian bank Macquarie.

The London-based investment company, run by Irish businessman Seamus Fitzpatrick, bought a controlling stake in the hospital in 2007 in a transaction valuing the Mater at €350 million.

The company sought to sell the business twice, first in 2015, but put those plans on hold after German healthcare giant Fresenius pulled back from a transaction in August 2016.

Capvest continued to manage the fund that included the Mater Private after it sold the assets to Harbourvest.

Mater Private owns hospitals in Dublin and Cork, two cancer treatment centres in Limerick and Liverpool, and a number of out-patient clinics around the Republic.

Consultants

The hospital group employs more than 300 consultants and sells care to patients from around the country. Its roots go back to 1851, when the Mercy Nuns founded a hospital on Eccles Street in Dublin. The modern Mater Private opened in 1986.

John Hurley, Mater Private chief executive, said the Irish group was looking forward to working with Infravia. "Working with Infravia will allow us to develop our facilities and services, and significantly expand our services to meet the needs for Ireland's growing population."

Vincent Levita, Infravia chief executive, described the Mater as the Republic's leading private healthcare group.

Paris-based Infravia Capital Partners focuses on infrastructure and manages €3 billion worth of assets across Europe. Earlier this month it sold a 20 per cent stake in Noordgastransport, a Dutch natural gas pipeline and processing plant, to Aberdeen Asset Management.