Virgin, La Trobe test IPO market | Metrics eyes Healthscope debt | Catalyst sells Tasmanian mine

Good evening,

Turns out David Di Pilla’s HMC Capital may not be the only buyer of debt in ailing hospital operator Healthscope – there’s also a credit heavyweight thinking about doing the same.

Street Talk can reveal that Andrew Lockhart’s Metrics Credit Partners, one of Healthscope’s 31 lenders that are struggling to recover their investments, has held discussions to acquire a slice from fellow lenders that refused to sign a standstill agreement and want out of the long-running saga. Sources said the negotiations were live, but Metrics is yet to make a purchase.

It comes a day after this column revealed that Di Pilla, via Deutsche Bank, had swooped on debt owned by Japan’s SMBC at about 40¢ in the dollar.

Of note, Deutsche Bank is still on the prowl for further Healthscope debt, going as far as pitching to lenders who agreed to the selling restrictions. Sources said Bank of America bought another $10 million parcel overnight from Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley.

To recap, after a year of high-stakes negotiations, more than 70 per cent of Healthscope’s $1.6 billion lender syndicate has now signed a standstill agreement and given Brookfield and its advisers until mid-May to come up with rival offers to take on Di Pilla’s mooted bid, but the remaining 30 per cent have run out of patience and are selling out at a loss.

Healthscope, the country’s second-largest private hospitals group, has struggled under high leverage and an industry-wide decline in profitability. Its future will be decided in the next two months.

Read the full story tomorrow and more on the Street Talk page.

Here are four questions Virgin Australia boss Dave Emerson can expect from fund managers at the coming IPO meetings: what exactly is the expected boost from the Qatar deal; how does he intend to fund the capex required; how can the airline expand its loyalty program; and how does it plan to navigate a tougher aircraft manufacturing environment?

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