The ultimate sale price for the Beacon Hospital was €342 million when it was acquired by Australian financial services giant Macquarie, according to newly filed accounts.
It was widely reported at the time of the deal in 2024 that the sale was between €400 million and €500 million but new accounts filed with the Companies Registration Office (CRO), detail the price at €342.24 million.
Net assets of the hospital and related companies, at the time of purchase, stood at €127.87 million, with the Australian company paying a further €214.37 million in goodwill based on the assembled workforce and internally generated brand.
Macquarie Asset Management agreed the deal to acquire the private hospital on February 12th, 2024, with the deal completed two months later on April 5th.
READ MORE
The hospital was primarily owned by businessman Denis O’Brien, who held an 80 per cent stake in the business, with a minority held by several shareholders, including Mark Redmond and Michael Cullen. The latter still holds a small ownership share.
It had seen significant growth since a controlling stake was purchased by Denis O’Brien in 2014 from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre (UPMC).
Based in Sandyford, Co Dublin, the hospital now employs 2,200 healthcare workers including 380 specialists with more than 280,000 patient visits each year.
In an irregular financial period which accounts for the operations of the hospital from the takeover in April to the end of December 2024, the hospital recorded a €17.35 million after-tax loss and an operating loss of €2.4 million.
The company notes the loss “reflects accounting adjustments, primarily goodwill amortisation (€15.9 million) and related-party interest costs (€11.6 million), rather than underlying operational performance”.
How AI is beginning to wreak havoc in the jobs market
The company is in receipt of a €209.4 million shareholder loan from a Macquarie fund with a fixed rate of interest of 7.5 per cent, which is due to mature in 2040.
The Beacon recorded €193.7 million in turnover in the period, which it described in a statement to The Irish Times as “continued strong demand across inpatient and outpatient” services.
“Beacon Hospital has seen strong growth in demand over the past nine months,” a spokeswoman said, noting the “critical” support of “strong collaborative partnerships with private insurers”.
The spokeswoman said the hospital has started a “significant capital investment programme” since it was acquired with €20.4m, having already been invested in expanding its facilities.
A further nearly €180 million is planned to be spent in the next two years on projects including a new eight-storey extension with 70 additional beds, and expanded radiology, oncology, and emergency services.
