An item in Friday’s Daily Update reported that the top executive at Fillmore Capital Partners said representatives of Extendicare had spoken with him about possibly buying the Canada-based nursing home chain.
The item added that Extendicare announced last week it had appointed Lehman Brothers as its advisor for possible initiatives that would “provide value” for shareholders, which could include a sale or reorganization of the company. We reported that Extendicare spokesman Christopher Barnes told us Lehman had likely approached several companies about a possible acquisition.
“A sale could potentially happen, but it’s premature to speculate on that,” Barnes clarified on Friday, dismissing similar sale accounts that appeared in Canadian news outlets. “Independent directors will consider whatever options make sense.” Lehman Brothers has not been approaching other companies about a possible deal, Barnes added.
Fillmore CEO Ron Silva raised the Extendicare issue while being interviewed by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News for an unrelated story. “Sure, we’ll look at it,” he said, adding he was told Extendicare could be valued at $1 billion (U.S).
