June 13 (Reuters) - British healthcare real estate

investor Primary Health Properties ( PHPRF ) on Friday urged

rival Assura to back its bid over a takeover offer from

KKR and Stonepeak.

Assura earlier this week backed U.S. private equity firms

KKR and Stonepeak's nearly 1.7 billion pound ($2.3 billion)

"best and final" sweetened cash bid, valuing its shares at 52.1

pence apiece, including dividends.

Assura had said PHP's offer posed "material risks and

downsides" for its shareholders. PHP said it disagrees with that

assessment.

PHP said it believed the primary care property sector was at

an "inflexion point" due to strong rental growth and lower

interest rates.

PHP also noted that the UK's spending plans over the next

three years would benefit both firms, which invest in properties

leased out to healthcare entities such as Britain's National

Health Service.

PHP said its cash-and-share offer, based on its closing

price of 103 pence a share on Thursday, now implied a total

value of 53 pence per Assura share, including dividends.

At the time of PHP's first announcement of the offer in May,

its bid consisting of 0.3769 new PHP shares and 12.5 pence in

cash, had valued Assura at 51.7 pence, including dividends.

The value of an offer with a stock component will vary with

the bidder's share price.

PHP said on Friday that it would not reduce the value of the

PHP offer if Assura's board declared a special dividend of up to

0.84 pence apiece.

"The Board believes that with further due diligence

and consideration, and factoring in the special dividend, the

Board of Assura should recommend the combination to

shareholders," PHP said.

Assura's shares were little changed on Friday at 49.9 pence.

PHP shares were flat at 103 pence as of 0711 GMT.

($1 = 0.7389 pounds)