Queensland acquires cancer care provider

Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Curtis Pitt has welcomed Queensland Investment Corporation’s (QIC) acquisition of Icon Group – Australia’s fastest growing cancer care provider.

Mr Pitt said it was another example of Queensland investing in Queensland to create more local jobs.

“Icon is Australia’s largest private day cancer care provider, with over 1 million patient interactions annually throughout Australia, China, New Zealand and Singapore,” Mr Pitt said.

“This investment will provide the capital needed to continue to grow the business domestically and internationally from their Queensland base.

“This means more high quality jobs for Queenslanders and better services for cancer patients.”

Icon’s services include radiation and medical oncology, day oncology hospitals, pharmacy and chemotherapy compounding, with the company establishing centres in communities that previously lacked access to cancer care.

Mr Pitt said it was great to see QIC investing in a Queensland success story.

“Icon Group is among the top ten healthcare companies in Australia, but the only one based in Brisbane,” Mr Pitt said.

“QIC’s investment, along with its consortium partners, will help the company grow, particularly in Asia, where the cancer burden is expected to increase by 70 per cent in the next two decades.

“Importantly, Queensland will remain its base and the centre for servicing the expanding care network across the region, so there will be more jobs for doctors, medical specialists and other staff.”

It follows QIC’s $500 million Toowoomba Grand Central transformation project which provided 1,500 jobs and an additional 1,000 ongoing jobs in retail, hospitality and other services.

The centre’s March opening ushered in a new era of retail for Toowoomba with major retailers Kmart, Big W, Best & Less and Woolworths now operating in the CBD alongside Myer, Target and Coles.

In May last year QIC acquired 80 per cent of one of Australian’s oldest and largest agricultural enterprises, North Australian Pastoral Company.

North Australian Pastoral Company was a major player in the cattle industry, with properties covering 5.8 million hectares across Queensland and the Northern Territory and approximately 178,000 head of cattle.

QIC acquired the interest in Icon Group as part of a consortium with Pagoda Investments and West Street Capital Partners VII, a fund managed by the Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division (GS MBD).

The acquisition is subject to shareholder approval.

QIC is a Queensland Government owned funds manager that invests of behalf of 100 government and private clients.

It has $81.1 billion in funds under management as at 31 March 2017.

On behalf of its clients, QIC owns or is the largest shareholder in Queensland assets valued at over $17 billion and employing more than 35,000 Queenslanders.

The Icon acquisition is part of a deliberate strategy by QIC to invest in sectors and businesses aligned to Australia’s competitive advantage and with the potential to grow domestically and into Asia.

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