Private equity firm mulls taking radiology group public via IPO after ‘failed’ sale

London-based private equity firm Permira is reportedly considering taking a large radiology group public with an initial stock offering following a recently failed sale process.

The investment group first acquired I-MED Radiology—the largest private imaging provider in Australia and New Zealand—in 2018 for almost $805 million (USD). Seven years later, Permira is reportedly looking to exit the investment and has held advanced discussions with fellow PE firm Stonepeak about a potential $1.9 billion price tag. 

With those talks falling apart, Permira is now eyeing an IPO, The Australian reported Wednesday citing unnamed sources. The conversations are relevant in the U.S. after I-MED acquired San Diego-based StatRad, the States’ second largest teleradiology outfit, last July

I-MED was part of a public sale process last year run by Morgan Stanley and Jefferies, the publication noted. Last time around, Australian financial services firm Macquarie Asset Management and Boston-based Bain Capital were in the mix. However, both were reportedly “not prepared to meet” the high price tag sought, the outlet claimed. 

The radiology group also had previously mulled an IPO on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2015 prior to Permira buying I-MED for approximately 11 times its earnings. 

I-MED operates over 250 clinics across Australia and New Zealand, with a team of 475 radiologists handling 5 million procedures annually, according to LinkedIn. StatRad, meanwhile, was founded in 1995 as a partnership between local imaging groups. At the time of the deal last year, it had over 90 U.S.-based rads reading 1.8 million-plus scans annually, I-MED reported then. StatRad’s client list included about 190 hospitals in 30 U.S. states at the time of the purchase.

Read more about the latest developments at I-MED from The Australian (subscription required): 

Marty Stempniak

Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic. 

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