UK's PHP urges Assura to back its bid over KKR-Stonepeak offer

(Reuters) -British healthcare real estate investor Primary Health Properties (PHP) on Friday urged rival Assura to back its bid over a takeover offer from KKR and Stonepeak.

Assura earlier this week backed U.S. private equity firms KKR and Stonepeak's nearly 1.7 billion pound ($2.3 billion) "best and final" sweetened cash bid, valuing its shares at 52.1 pence apiece, including dividends.

Assura had said PHP's offer posed "material risks and downsides" for its shareholders. PHP said it disagrees with that assessment.

PHP said it believed the primary care property sector was at an "inflexion point" due to strong rental growth and lower interest rates.

PHP also noted that the UK's spending plans over the next three years would benefit both firms, which invest in properties leased out to healthcare entities such as Britain's National Health Service.

PHP said its cash-and-share offer, based on its closing price of 103 pence a share on Thursday, now implied a total value of 53 pence per Assura share, including dividends.

At the time of PHP's first announcement of the offer in May, its bid consisting of 0.3769 new PHP shares and 12.5 pence in cash, had valued Assura at 51.7 pence, including dividends.

The value of an offer with a stock component will vary with the bidder's share price.

PHP said on Friday that it would not reduce the value of the PHP offer if Assura's board declared a special dividend of up to 0.84 pence apiece.

"The Board believes that with further due diligenceand consideration, and factoring in the special dividend, the Board of Assura should recommend the combination to shareholders," PHP said.

Assura's shares were little changed on Friday at 49.9 pence. PHP shares were flat at 103 pence as of 0711 GMT.

($1 = 0.7389 pounds)

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)