Good evening,

It seems healthcare is continuing to be a magnet for deal makers.

On the listed side, Wesfarmers booked in for a consultation with Melbourne-headquartered online medical prescriptions business InstantScripts. The conglomerate is no stranger to the healthcare industry, having snapped up Australian Pharmaceutical Industries last year.

It also has its eyes on injectables and laser hair removal business Silk Laser Australia, though its $3.15 a share bid was spoiled by Hong Kong minnow EC Healthcare last week. It is not known whether those talks progressed, but investors will be watching for more details at Wesfarmers’ strategy day tomorrow.

Over in private equity, Pemba Capital Partners has joined TPG Capital’s Greencross Vets in the pets-and-vets business dealmaking pipeline, weighing options for its majority-owned pet clinics roll-up Vets Central, while Andrew Forrest’s private health tech fund has nabbed a seasoned academic who has been working as a sell-side analyst at Bell Potter.

Elsewhere, Street Talk today reveals details on the 7-Eleven saleincluding that Seven & i Holdings, the Tokyo-based retailing group that owns the brand globally, has engaged bankers and lawyers as it considers a tilt. There’re plenty of others to work through, however, with sources adding that Canadian retailer Couche-Tard – the operator of Circle K – is also known to be interested.

Happy reading,
Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Street Talk editors