| Publication: | The Australian |
|---|---|
| Date: | 13 June 2008 |
| Section: | Business |
Article excerpt:
MEDIBANK Private, the country's biggest private health insurer, will pay up to $340 million to buy a small mutual fund, AHM, in an industry facing tough times as members leave the sector because of higher premiums.
The acquisition will reinstate Medibank as the market leader with a 31 per cent market share -- up 3 per cent with AHM -- in a consolidating private health sector worth some $13 billion that has already seen British-backed BUPA take MBF in a $2.41 billion deal.
The BUPA-MBF deal would give the merged fund about 28 per cent of market share.
As the government-owned private health insurer, Medibank could not sit and do nothing to reposition itself as market leader.
