Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA (FSNPF.PK,FSNUF.PK) intends to offer about 3.1 billion euros in cash to buy German private hospital operator Rhoen-Klinikum AG. The deal will see Rhoen-Klinikum merge into Fresenius' hospital operating unit Helios to create Germany's largest private hospital operator. Fresenius also reported higher first-quarter results and lifted its forecast, citing improved performance mainly in its US-listed unit Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (FMS).
The German healthcare firm is planning to offer 22.50 euros per share in cash to voluntarily buy Rhoen-Klinikum. The offer represents a premium of 52 percent on Rhoen-Klinikum's closing share price on Wednesday and 53 percent on the share's three-month average price.
The transaction is expected to be accretive to group net income and slightly dilutive to earnings per share in the first year after closing, and to be slightly accretive to earnings per share in the second year.
The company expects to close the deal in the third quarter, subject to a minimum acceptance threshold of 90 percent of share capital and on antitrust approval. Rhoen-Klinikum's founder, chairman and key shareholder Eugen Münch and his wife have agreed to tender their 12.45 percent stake in favor. Münch will also urge its shareholders to accept the offer.
Confirming the receipt of the offer, Rhoen-Klinikum said its boards will examine the offer for the price as well as whether the bid also safeguards its interests.
Following the deal closure, Fresenius plans to combine Helios with Rhoen-Klinikum into the new entity HELIOS-Rhön, which will have sales of about 6 billion euros. The combination is also expected to generate significant cost synergies and will result in a potential 1 to 2 percent increase in the new hospital group's EBITDA margin.
Fresenius also provided its preliminary first-quarter numbers, reporting an 18 percent increase in adjusting net income to 200 million euros and a 13 percent increase in total sales to 4.42 billion euros. Including an investment gain at Fresenius Medical Care, net income increased 35 percent to 230 million euros.
In the quarter, Fresenius Medical Care - the world's largest provider of dialysis services - reported a 68 percent climb in attributable net income to $370 million. Adjusted net income grew 10 percent to $244 million and sales were 3.25 billion, 9 percent higher than last year.
Fresenius Medical Care's net earnings per share grew 67 percent to $1.22 and adjusted earnings per share increased 10 percent to $0.80, in line with the consensus estimate of five analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Such estimates typically exclude special items.
Fresenius Helios' sales increased 11 percent to 717 million euros and EBIT grew 17 percent to 68 million euros in the quarter.
Meanwhile, the target company Rhoen-Klinikum today reported that its first-quarter profit decreased 10.3 percent from last year to 34.1 million euros while revenues grew 5.4 percent to 682.3 million euros on higher patient numbers.
Looking ahead, for fiscal 2012, Fresenius now expects adjusted net income to grow between 12 and 15 percent in constant currency, compared to previous growth forecast of between 8 and 11 percent. Sales growth forecast of 10 to 13 percent in constant currency is now projected at the upper end of the targeted range.
Fresenius Medical Care continues to expect that annual adjusted net income would grow to around $1.14 billion and sales would grow to around $14 billion.
Rhoen-Klinikum also confirmed its annual forecast and expects net consolidated profit of 145 million euros and EBITDA of 350 million euros. Revenues are expected to be 2.85 billion euros which may fluctuate within a range of plus or minus 2.5 percent.
On Frankfurt's Xetra, Rhoen-Klinikum climbed 48.17 percent and currently trading at 21.89 euros, while Fresenius shares declined 5.6 percent and currently trading at 69.80 euros. Fresenius Medical is currently at 52.19 euros, down 0.78 percent.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.