The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) ended its winning streak in April. The benchmark index shed 0.9% of its value during the month to end it at 7,435 points.
Fortunately, not all shares dropped with the market. Here's why these were the best performers on the ASX 200 in April:
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Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)
The Ramsay Health Care share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 in April with a sizeable 24.5% gain. Investors were buying the private hospital operator's shares after it received a takeover approach from a consortium led by KKR. The consortium has tabled a non-binding $88.00 cash per share offer to acquire the private hospital operator. This will be reduced by any dividends paid. Ramsay has granted the consortium due diligence access.
GrainCorp Ltd (ASX: GNC)
The GrainCorp share price was on form and charged 21.7%. This was despite there being no news out of the grain exporter. However, with global grain prices reaching 25-year highs recently, it appears as though investors are confident that GrainCorp will (at least) deliver on its recently upgraded earnings guidance for FY 2022.
AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP)
The AMP share price wasn't far behind with a gain of 20.2% last month. This was driven by the announcement of a number of sale agreements for its private markets business, Collimate Capital. This culminated in the announcement of an agreement to sell its international infrastructure equity business to DigitalBridge for up to A$699 million late in the month. In total, the deals value the total Collimate Capital business at up to A$2.04 billion including the value of retained assets, and up to A$2.5 billion when including the maximum earnouts. AMP intends to return the majority of the sale proceeds to shareholders.
Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA)
The Viva Energy share price was on form and raced 19.6% higher during the month. Investors were buying the fuel retailer's shares after its positive form continued during the first quarter. Viva Energy reported a 9% increase total group volumes despite battling mobility restrictions caused by the floods. In addition, Viva Energy reported a big improvement in its Geelong Refining Margin. This went down well with UBS, which retained its buy rating and lifted its price target to $2.95.
