Sale of Amil could move between R$ 15 billion and R$ 20 billion, projects American bank

An eventual sale of the health operator Amil by the controlling group UnitedHealth Group could lead to a valuation of the company’s market value between R$ 15 billion and R$ 20 billion, according to Bank of America (BofA) estimates.

According to analysts at the American bank, the estimated market value for the company takes into account deals carried out in the sector involving companies of similar size, in terms of hospital beds or beneficiaries – in the case of Amil, the operator has about 2, 5 thousand beds and 3 million customers.

At the end of last week, a report by the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo pointed out that Rede D’or and the Bueno family (controller of Dasa) would be the main competitors in the race to take Amil.

A hypothetical scenario seen by analysts at the US bank as the most likely predicts that UnitedHealth Group may choose to separate Amil’s hospital and healthcare provider businesses, with a potential separate sale to two or more buyers.

“For Rede D’Or and Dasa, we believe that this possibility would make more sense, as they could buy Amil’s hospital assets, with a possible other buyer, such as SulAmérica or even Bradesco, acquiring the portfolio of beneficiaries”, says a BofA report signed by analysts Fred Mendes, Gustavo Tiseo and Mirela Oliveira.

BofA analysts also point out that Dasa should be the company to keep the hospital assets, due to the good relationship with UnitedHealth Group executives, and because Rede D’Or’s ambitions could end up bumping into Cade (Administrative Council for Economic Defense ), given its high presence in regions where Amil already operates, such as Rio de Janeiro.

“The acquisition, if it takes place, should be transformational for Dasa, as it attacks one of the company’s main problems today, which is the lack of liquidity of shares on the Stock Exchange”, say the analysts.

A second option outlined by the American bank’s specialists would be for a single buyer to buy Amil, a possibility seen, however, as less likely.

“Could we see one of the largest Brazilian insurers buying all the assets, as speculated in the media? We believe this option is remote given the size of the potential acquisition in a sector of limited profitability.”

In December 2021, Amil had already asked the ANS (National Supplementary Health Agency) to transfer its portfolio of individual plans to another company.