Aussies try Classic pitch
RAMSEY HEALTH CARE of Australia, which recently bought 22 independent UK hospitals under the Capio Healthcare umbrella, is now trying to buy Classic, Britain's fifth-largest private-hospital group, for more than £100m.
The group, which operates nine hospitals, is owned by the private-equity firm LVG, which bought it two years ago for £85m.
Ramsey said: "We're looking to make further acquisitions in [continental] Europe and the UK. Otherwise we have no comment." LGV boss Adrian Johnson also declined to comment.
Shopping centres spree
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THE American buyout firm Blackstone has set up a joint venture with Milligan, the retail property specialist, to invest £500m in British shopping centres. The two have worked together on one-off projects in the past but have now formalised their relationship.
The bulk of the funding will come from the buyout house. Milligan will source, as well as co-invest in, the deals. It is expected that the venture will have the firepower to undertake anywhere between three and seven deals.
Firms 'need tax change'
CORPORATION TAX must be cut to 25% by 2011 as part of a wide-ranging strategy to address Britain's rising tax burden and the complexity of the current system, according to EEF, the manufacturers' organisation. A report by EEF, carried out with Price Waterhouse Coopers, shows that 54% of firms have faced an increasing tax burden in the past five years, with the proportion rising to 60% among small firms. The call follows business disappointment over the failure of Alistair Darling, the chancellor, to unveil changes in his capital-gains tax reforms last week.
VT in £100m nuclear swoop
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VT GROUP is poised to snap up one of the last remaining parts of British Nuclear Fuels, the government-owned nuclear agency that is being broken up. VT is the final remaining bidder for Project Services, which employs more than 730 scientists and technicians, and specialises in decommissioning nuclear plants and other hazardous sites. It has contracts at Sellafield and other civil nuclear sites, and works for the Ministry of Defence. Analysts have estimated it could fetch up to £100m.
Carbon consultants picked
US consultancy Parsons Brinckerhoff has been appointed by the government to advise on a competition to find a way to capture the carbon generated by power stations. The initiative was launched by Gordon Brown last month. Firms have to prequalify for the trial by March, with a winner announced next summer.