Aged care assets bought

British health fund BUPA said yesterday it had completed the A$1.2 billion ($1.36 billion) acquisition of aged care assets in Australia and New Zealand from private equity firm CVC Asia Pacific.

BUPA said it had been granted regulatory approvals to buy controlling interests in Australia's Amity and New Zealand's Guardian Healthcare, which collectively own 96 aged care homes.

The deal follows BUPA's A$2.4 billion acquisition of Australia's second-largest private health fund, MBF Australia, last week, which will create a health insurance giant to match government-owned Medibank Private.