KKR has called on the Assura board to change its recommendation from Primary Health Properties’ (PHP) combination bid to its "best and final increased cash offer" of £1.7bn, after a number of factors have changed.

The US private equity firm said in a statement that it believes these factors reduce the "attractiveness" of PHP’s offer.

The healthcare real estate investment trust recommended PHP’s £1.79bn offer to its shareholders in June. However, due to a decline in Assura and PHP’s share prices since the recommendation, KKR stated that its £1.7bn offer is now 1.1% higher than PHP’s offer.

KKR, which has teamed up with US investor, Stonepeak, added that its "best and final" increased offer of 50.42 pence per share represents a 2.9% premium to Assura’s share price on 7 August, stating that there appears to have been no activity from investors who have expressed support to the potential combination of PHP and Assura.

The announcement comes after the Competition and Markets Authority served an initial enforcement order to block PHP from fully integrating with Assura while the regulator examines the deal, after launching a consultation into the merger last month.

KKR concluded that its offer has "no competition or antitrust risk" and is able to "provide the strongest ongoing stewardship for Assura, its team and all stakeholders".

Assura's share price has crept up by 0.38% following the announcement, while shares in PHP jumped by 1.22% since opening.

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