May 22 (Reuters) - Australian hospital group Healthscope HSO.AX on Tuesday rejected takeover offers worth more than $3 billion from rival suitors Brookfield Asset Management BAMa.TO and BGH Capital, saying both offers undervalue the company.
Healthscope also trimmed its earnings guidance and said it has put its Asian pathology business up for sale after receiving approaches from a number of parties.
Canadian investment firm Brookfield Asset Management offered about $3.3 billion for the hospital operator earlier this month, topping a $3.1 billion offer in April from new Australian private equity player BGH Capital. Directors have carefully considered each proposal and concluded that neither proposal adequately reflects the long term value of Healthscope, nor its underlying assets nor future potential," Healthscope Chairman Paula Dwyer said.
The company said it plans a strategic review of its hospital property portfolio, and would look at the merits of a sale and leaseback transaction to unlock value for shareholders.
Healthscope also downgraded its guidance for core earnings from hospital operations to A$340 million to A$345 million ($258 million-$262 million) for fiscal 2018, compared to core earnings of A$359.4 million in 2017. It had previously indicated core earnings would be broadly similar.
The company said it was targeting core earnings growth of at least 10 percent from its hospital operations in 2019.
($1 = 1.3184 Australian dollars)