KKR & Co trading information will be displayed on screens on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, USA on August 23, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

(Reuters) – A KKR-led consortium (KKR.N) has urged Australia’s Ramsay Healthcare (RHC.AX) to improve its nearly $14.5 billion cash and stock offer to the hospital operator. notified. Probably freeze the deal.

Shares of Ramsay, which has expressed dissatisfaction with terms, fell more than 10% on the news. If the deal goes well, it would make him one of the largest private equity buyouts in U.S. history.

In late August, a consortium whose members include Australian pension fund HESTA and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority received $88 per share in cash from the table.

Instead, the bid was amended to entitle Ramsay shareholders to A$88 per share.

For investors with larger stakes, the split was A$78.20 per Ramsay share and 0.22 shares in French subsidiary Ramsay General de Santé (GDSF.PA). Ramsay described the alternative proposal as “meaningly inferior”.

Ramsey said on Tuesday that the consortium cited poor performance of hospital operators in past financial years.

“Ramsay’s board of directors has not yet considered the communication received late yesterday evening … but it is not certain that further proposals will be made or that the proposals will result in a transaction,” it added.

KKR Group will discuss mutually acceptable terms if Ramsey is willing to reset its valuation expectations and consider a new offer, a statement said Tuesday.

KKR declined to comment.

Ramsay’s share price finally fell 10.6% to A$62.80.

Reporting by Sameer Manekar from Bangalore and Scott Murdoch from Hong Kong. Editing by Edwina Gibbs

Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.