Ramsay Health Care RHC.AX, Australia's largest private hospital operator, said on Wednesday it received a A$20.05 billion ($14.80 billion) takeover offer from a consortium led by private equity giant KKR & Co KKR.N.

The non-binding proposal of A$88 per share represents a premium of nearly 37% to Ramsay's Tuesday closing price of A$64.39.

Ramsay said it would provide the KKR-led consortium with due diligence on a non-exclusive basis and that talks were at a preliminary stage.

The hospital operator said it has reviewed the proposal with its advisers and asked for further information from the consortium in relation to its funding and structure of the deal.

Ramsay operates hospitals and clinics across 10 countries in three continents, with a network of more than 530 locations, according to its website.

If successful, the purchase of the hospital operator would be the biggest in Australia this year and bolster deal activity, which, at a total value of $17.4 billion, suffered a 41.2% decline in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, according to Refinitiv data.

A consortium's A$31.6 billion enterprise value deal in 2021 for Sydney airport is the largest ever private equity-backed deal in Australia.

Earlier this year, Ramsay and Malaysia's Sime Darby Holdings received a $1.35 billion buyout offer from IHH Healthcare Bhd IHHH.KL for their Asia joint venture. Ramsay said it is still pursuing this transaction

The hospital operator has hired UBS AG's Australia Branch and Herbert Smith Freehills as financial and legal advisers, respectively, for the KKR-led consortium's proposal.

($1 = 1.3546 Australian dollars)

 - Reuters