PRINT THIS PAGE US Blackstone to buy UK nursing homes group NHP for £564m30/11/2004. Source: AltAssets. 
 US private equity firm Blackstone has had its £564m offer for listed UK nursing homes group NHP accepted. The successful completion of the deal would mark a big step forward in its ambition to build one of the UK's large homes providers.
Blackstone's offer values the business at more than £1bn. It plans to merge NHP with Southern Cross, the care home business it bought earlier in the year for £162m.
Joseph Baratta, a principal of the Blackstone Group, said: 'We believe NHP is a unique asset in the UK care home sector; it owns the largest portfolio of care home properties in the industry and, through Highfield Care, is one of the leading operators.'
The nursing homes sector has been one of the most active targets for private equity firms over the course of the last 12 months. The UK market is growing but still highly fragmented, providing private equity firms with a clear roll-up opportunity.
Blackstone lost out last month in the competition for Westminster Healthcare to a rival consortium of private backers. The other major deal in the sector in recent months has been the acquisition of Four Seasons by Allianz Capital Partners for £775m.
The Blackstone Group has been one of the most active private equity groups in Europe in recent years, picking up large and small assets across the continent. At the start of the year it took private German chemicals business Celanese for more than E3bn.
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