It has been reported that Healthscope, which an Australian hospital operator said that it had got a $1.6 billion conquest approach from a faction of takeover companies.

The Company stated, "Healthscope announces that, after the close of the market yesterday, it received an indicative, non-binding and confidential proposal to acquire all of the issued capital by scheme of arrangement from a private equity consortium”.

It has been said that the Healthscope panel has not formed a view with respect to the proposal and suggests that no action should be taken by shareholders at this time.

It is said that shares of Healthscope increased to as much as 21% to a two-year high, after they received the news of the approach.

The approach signified a comeback of huge private equity agreements to the Australian market after a two-year droop at the time of economic crisis.

The offer was described by fund managers as opportunistic on the part of private equity, according to the fund managers, the bidders were looking forward to take benefit of low profits in the pathology business and feeble share costs as government analysis was faced by the business.

The name of the bidders were not mentioned by Healthscope in the conglomerate and said that it still requires creating an opinion on the takeover approach.