Australian Unity and Opal expand operations
In the latest sector purchases, Australian Unity has announced it will acquire INS Health Care, the home care division of The INS Group, while Opal Aged Care’s takeover of Stockland’s aged care portfolio has been finalised.
Australian Unity has announced it will acquire INS Health Care, the home care division of The INS Group, while Opal Aged Care’s takeover of Stockland’s aged care portfolio will be finalised on Monday.
NSW home care provider INS Health Care has over 70 staff and 126 home care packages operating in the Illawarra, Macarthur, Southern Highlands and southern Sydney.
Australian Unity Retirement Living Chief Executive Officer Derek McMillan said on Wednesday the acquisition would strengthen the organisation’s existing presence in the southern and western Sydney and Southern Highlands regions where the business already operates a range of home care services including within its Constitution Hill, Greglea and Mt Eymard retirement villages.
“As one of the oldest home care providers in Australia, INS Health Care’s expertise will strengthen our ability to offer an extensive range of care services to clients that allow them to maintain their independence and quality of life, whether their home is located in one of our retirement villages or not,” said Mr McMillan.
Australian Unity currently delivers 220 home care packages across NSW and Victoria.
INS Group’s Managing Director Claude Rafin said he will be working closely with Australian Unity to ensure a smooth transition for staff and clients.
The transaction is expected to be completed next month.
Stockland sells aged care assets
Meanwhile, contracts have been exchanged for the sale of Stockland’s four aged care facilities to Opal Aged Care for $25.6 million. The deal, to be settled on Monday, will see Opal acquire 366 beds from Stockland in NSW and Victoria, and a further 92 offline licences assigned to the development of a potential new aged care facility in Winston Hills in NSW.
The two companies said the agreement was below book value at 31 December 2013, reflecting the upcoming demolition and redevelopment of the Cardinal Freeman site.
Stockland’s Group Executive and CEO Retirement Living Stephen Bull said the sale came after a detailed search to find a well-established provider “capable of taking over this area of our business”.
The acquisition has been approved by the Department of Social Services and all existing resident bond and employee agreements will be transferred to Opal Aged Care without change.
National aged care provider Opal and property group Stockland said the acquisition signalled the start of a longer term partnership through cooperation on future co-located retirement living and aged care sites.
“We’ll work with Opal to pursue the development and operation of specialised aged care services where the land and opportunity exists at other sites within our Retirement Living portfolio,” said Mr Bull.
On completion of the acquisition, Opal Aged Care will own 60 aged care facilities nationally caring for 4,900 residents.
