An investment company owned by the Queensland government has signed a $138.6 million deal to buy a consortium of Australian day hospitals.
Healius is selling the Montserrat Day Hospital business to the Queensland Investment Corporation's Nexus Hospital business as part of a shake-up including a shift in focus to diagnostics.
Healius bought the chain of 11 hospitals for $122 million in 2018.
"The sale of Montserrat is in-line with our strategy to focus on the growth of our diagnostics businesses," chief executive Malcolm Parmenter said.
For Nexus, the acquisition will boost its portfolio to 29 short-stay hospitals, creating the largest short-stay hospital network in Australia.
The QIC said it "actively demonstrates the execution of a sector-centric, thematic-based investment strategy, of which healthcare is a core focus".
QIC head of global infrastructure Ross Israel said short-stay hospitals are booming because of technological and clinical developments that allow more procedures to be performed there, as well as being more affordable and efficient.
Nexus CEO Andrew Petering said the tie-up would allow Nexus to share best practice initiatives and save on procurement costs.
"We look forward to the scale and depth that the combined businesses will provide for our patients and the overall Australian healthcare system through the ongoing delivery of affordable healthcare services with excellent clinical outcomes and patient experiences," he said.
Healius will shift its focus away from the day hospitals to its network of pathology and imaging centres.
Mr Parmenter said the proceeds of the sale will enable the company to "strengthen (its) balance sheet during this transition period".
Healius will continue to offer diagnostic services within the hospitals, with one in three Australian pathology samples tested in the company's centres.
As part of the shake-up, Mr Parmenter will also step down from the CEO role, after five years at the company's reins, to "pursue other activities".
"I am proud of where Healius is today and I am particularly proud of our people and our culture of delivering accessible, quality healthcare to the communities of Australia," he said.
Mr Parmenter will be replaced by chief operating officer and chief financial officer Maxine Jaquet in March next year.
"I am focused on managing the transition from COVID-19 testing to our business-as-usual diagnostics," Ms Jaquet said.
She will get an almost million dollar pay bump, going from making $876,000 in 2022 to $1.5 million in the CEO role next year.
At 12.22pm AEDT, Healius' share price was down 1.7 per cent to $2.83.
