Integrated financial and corporate communications strategy for a contested M&A situation

Client: Primary Health Properties (PHP)

Sodali & Co was appointed by Primary Health Properties (PHP), a FTSE 250 healthcare REIT, to support its contested acquisition of Assura plc in the face of a recommended all-cash bid from a private equity consortium backed by KKR and Stonepeak. The challenge was acute: PHP was initially disadvantaged by the Assura Board’s endorsement of a rival offer and by competing claims around value, certainty and public-market credibility.

Our objective was to secure a successful outcome for PHP by ensuring shareholders fully understood the long-term value, strategic rationale and societal importance of PHP’s shares-and-cash offer. To do so, we deployed an integrated financial and corporate communications campaign combining media strategy, investor and proxy engagement, and real-time market intelligence.

The campaign reframed the transaction as a choice between short-term private equity ownership and a long-term public-market steward of UK primary healthcare infrastructure. We delivered sustained, high-impact media coverage across national, financial and trade titles; mobilised institutional and retail shareholders; and robustly rebutted misleading rival claims through authoritative RNS disclosures. This approach led to the rival consortium being formally required to correct inaccuracies, reinforcing PHP’s credibility.

The results were decisive. The Assura Board reversed its recommendation to support PHP’s offer. Over 60% of retail investors tendered at first close, more than 95% of hedge funds accepted, and PHP secured 90% acceptances within two weeks of the offer going unconditional. The campaign set a new benchmark for how integrated communications can act as a tactical lever in complex, contested public-market transactions.