Crescent Capital has sold its remaining 30.12% stake in Australian Clinical Labs (ASX: ACL).
On 12 September ACL reported Crescent had confirmed the stake had been sold in a block sale and the private equity firm no longer held shares in the company.
ACL is a leading Australian provider of pathology services and one of the largest providers to private hospitals.
Late last year, ACL withdrew a bid it had made for its larger rival Healius after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) blocked the move. A merger of ACL and Healius would have accounted for more than 40% of the Australian pathology services market.
The Australian Financial Review reported on 12 September that it understood Crescent Capital had traded 60.8 million ACL shares at $3.20 per share after the ASX close the previous day via E&P Capital’s equities desk. ACL had ended the day’s trading at $3.30. The company had gained nearly 13% since the beginning of 2024.
Crescent floated ACL at $4 a share in 2021 but retained 44% alongside co-investors. The private equity firm sold down its stake to 30.12% in August 2022.
Crescent managing partner Michael Alscher is chair of the ACL board.
For the year to June 2024, ACL reported statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) of $24.2 million compared with $36.0 million in 2023, a 33% reduction. Revenue was flat at $696.4 million compared with $697.1 million in 2023 however this was despite a 59% decrease in COVID-19 revenue.
Image: Australian Clinical Labs is a leading Australian provider of pathology services.