Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE IN THE UNITED STATES

Medibank Private was today admitted to the official list of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), with trading in its fully paid ordinary shares scheduled to commence at 12.00 noon AEDT. Its ASX code is MPL.

Shares will initially trade on a conditional and deferred settlement basis.

Normal settlement trading is expected to commence on or about Friday, 5 December 2014.

The final price for Medibank Private shares was set at $2.15 per share, implying a market capitalisation of $5.921 billion. The price for retail investors was capped at $2.00 per share.¹

The outcome of the Offer is an outstanding result and the level of interest in Medibank Private, both here in Australia and from global investors, positions the company well for its debut on the ASX.

Significantly, many Australians now own a piece of Medibank Private, either directly or through their superannuation fund.

Today's listing is the culmination of more than a year of orderly and methodical preparations to plan and execute the sale of Medibank Private by initial public offering.

The Government is particularly pleased with the level of investor interest in the Share Offer, which raised $5.679 billion in proceeds.

These proceeds will now be re-invested into productivity enhancing infrastructure, through the Government's Asset Recycling Initiative.
The Government has successfully achieved the sale objectives it set in relation to the Share Offer.

The retail price will only apply to the first $250,000 worth of shares (rounded down to the nearest share) allocated to applicants under the Retail Offer. If applicants are allocated shares above $250,000, they will pay the Final Price for those shares.

These were:

• to contribute to an efficient, competitive and viable private health insurance industry;
• to maintain service and quality levels for Medibank Private customers, including in regional and rural Australia;
• to ensure the sale process treats Medibank Private employees in a fair manner, including through the preservation of accrued entitlements;
• to minimise any post sale residual risk and liabilities to the Government; and
• having regard to the above objectives, to maximise the net sale proceeds from the sale.

The success of the Offer is due, in no small part, to the structured and well-managed sale process.

I wish to thank Medibank Private, under the leadership of the Chair, Ms Elizabeth Alexander AO, and Managing Director, Mr George Savvides, and their team for their contribution to the success of the sale process.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the sale advisers, Lazard (business adviser), Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Macquarie Capital (collectively the Joint Lead Managers), Herbert Smith Freehills (legal adviser), Skadden Arps Slate Meagher and Flom (international legal advisor), KPMG (internal auditor), Ernst & Young (accounting adviser), Australian Government Solicitor (probity adviser) and Newgate Communications (communications adviser) for their outstanding and professional service in progressing the sale. I would also like to thank my department for managing the sale process carefully, methodically and purposefully.

The Government will no longer have an inherent conflict with regard to its role in the private health insurance industry.

Medibank Private now competes on a level playing field with its industry peers, as it should, and the Government can focus fully on the role expected of it in regulating a commercial private health insurance sector.

[1] The retail price will only apply to the first $250,000 worth of shares (rounded down to the nearest share) allocated to applicants under the Retail Offer. If applicants are allocated shares above $250,000, they will pay the Final Price for those shares.