The $74 billion Australian listed conglomerate Wesfarmers Limited (ASX:WES) is understood to have been carrying out detailed work in recent months, weighing up the merits of buying Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX:RHC). It is understood that Wesfarmers - which owns Target, Kmart, Officeworks and other industrial and healthcare assets - is interested in securing Ramsay's Australian business. However, with its shares performing strongly and a $74 billion market value, it's not inconceivable that Wesfarmers buys all of the $12 billion private hospital operator and sells off the international assets to other parties.

Some believe that the timing could now be right for Wesfarmers to embark on its next major acquisition, after bedding down the 2022 purchase of Priceline pharmacy chain owner Australian Pharmaceutical Industries for $763 million to seed its healthcare unit. Whether it remains serious about a deal remains unclear. Wesfarmers is usually assessing the acquisition of a handful of targets at any given time, and maintains an active mergers and acquisitions team.

It has looked at plenty of opportunities in the past before opting to walk away, and can treat targets as simply a due diligence exercise. Another possibility is that it could simply be weighing up a tilt at Ramsay's pharmacy unit, which it has expressed interest in before. Still, Wesfarmers' share price has rallied since the start of this year so it could take advantage of that, while the healthcare sector has been struggling with high costs and staff shortages, dampening the performance of Australian listed stocks trading in the space, including Ramsay.

Also weighing in Wesfarmers' favour is the fact that Ramsay's shareholders have been unhappy with the company's performance since Kohlberg Kravis Roberts walked away from a bid in 2022, causing its share price to tumble, and the could be more open to a buyout. The David Thodey-chaired Ramsay is believed to be thinking about a potential exit from its European hospital owner, Ramsay Sante, in which it has a 52.79% stake. DataRoom understands that Wesfarmers has carried out work on all aspects of the Ramsay business, including its real estate, and has been speaking to healthcare funds and industry figures.