Bain Capital to go back to the future with Estia Health?

The US equity investor has reportedly recruited three investment banks to relist residential aged care operator Estia Health on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

Bain Capital has hired UBS, Barrenjoey Capital Partners and Morgan Stanley to lead an initial public offering that would give the company a market capitalisation of more than $2 billion, according to The Australian Financial Review.

Bain Capital and Estia Health Chief Executive Officer Sean Bilton and Chief Financial Officer Anthony Rice met fund managers in late 2025 as part of a Sydney and Melbourne roadshow. At the time, Bain was weighing up an IPO or trade sale, advised by Barrenjoey and Gresham.

Estia was listed on the ASX until 2023, when Bain acquired it for $838 million, valuing the company at $280,000 per bed. At the time, we said the sale represented ‘rolled gold’ for Bain. The cost to build a new aged care bed today currently sits at around $500,000. 

Since 2023, Estia has grown significantly – from 75 homes in 2023 to 94 homes today. After securing $300 million in mezzanine finance from Nomura Securities, the company has acquired six Queensland homes from Vacenti Aged Care, two Sydney homes from Mark and Evette Moran, seven NSW and Victorian homes from Aurrum Aged Care, and three Queensland homes from Calvary Health Care. The company has also opened new greenfield developments and has a pipeline underway.

The aged care environment is also markedly different from when Bain acquired the operator in the shadow of COVID-19 and the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

Today, there is improved regulatory stability for residential aged care under the new Aged Care Act, increased funding options available to operators, and the long-term demographic tailwinds of an ageing population.

In December, The Australian reported the ASX-listed Regis Healthcare – which operates 72 aged care homes – had been approached about a merger with Estia.