Fortis initiates fresh bidding process, invites three previous bidders
The fresh bidding process was initiated after the company's board concluded the meeting on Tuesday.
Fortis Healthcare on Tuesday decided to initiate a fresh bidding process for the company, and invited the Munjal-Burman consortium, the TPG-Manipal consortium, and IHH Healthcare Bhd to submit new bids.
The invited bidders would have to submit their bids by May 31, the healthcare company said in an exchange filing, and also invited other parties to submit expressions of interest.
Fortis Healthcare had said on Monday that the company had not decided whether to re-open bidding for itself, after an offer of funding that its board had accepted got a tepid response from investors, prolonging a fierce takeover battle.
The Hero Enterprise Investment Office and Burman Family Office’s offer this month to invest 18 billion rupees ($267 million) in the company did not go down well with Fortis shareholders, who voted out a director last week. Three directors resigned ahead of the vote.
The cash-strapped hospitals operator has become an attractive investment target in recent months with five local and international suitors wanting to invest in or buy it, seeking to cash in on an expected boom in India’s private healthcare market.
Buyout offers from Fortis rival Manipal Health Enterprises and Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare Bhd value Fortis much higher than the Hero-Burman investment offer.
But the Hero-Burman offer waived due diligence and would give Fortis quick access to funds needed to cut its large debt pile.
In a letter to Fortis’s board on Monday, the Hero-Burman consortium said it understood some shareholders would prefer that the bidding process be re-opened, and said Fortis had its consent to do so.
This is a developing story and will be updated shortly.
Read our full coverage of the Fortis deal here.
First Published: May 29, 2018 3:45 PM IST
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