Malaysian hospital operator IHH Healthcare Bhd. today extended the validity of its offer to acquire Fortis Healthcare Ltd. to June 30 after changes in the board of the cash-strapped healthcare chain.
“In order to enable the reconstituted board to fully consider and evaluate our proposal, we now extend the acceptance period of the enhanced revised IHH proposal until 11.59 pm on June 30,” IHH Healthcare said in a letter to the directors of Fortis Healthcare.
Earlier three directors of Fortis - Harpal Singh, Sabina Vaisoha and Tejinder Singh Shergill - had resigned ahead of an extraordinary general meeting called to vote on their matter. Their removal was sought by two investors National Westminster Bank Plc as a trustee of Jupiter India Fund, East Bridge Capital Master Fund Ltd. and East Bridge Capital Master Fund I Ltd.
This week, the shareholders voted out the fourth director, Brian Tempest, from the board in the EGM held on May 22.
IHH Healthcare had revised its offer to directly invest in Fortis at Rs 175 per share on May 1 from an initial non-binding offer to invest in Fortis at Rs 160 per share. They'd earlier stated that the offer would expire on May 29.
The Malaysian healthcare chain is among the four suitors -- Munjals-Burmans combined, TPG-Manipal combined and KKR-backed Radiant Life Care -- which had put binding bids for Fortis. China's Fosun Healthcare was also in the race for Fortis initially, but it did not make a binding bid for the company.
Manipal-TPG have also extended the validity of its modified offer for Fortis Healthcare to June 6, 2018.
Fortis' board of directors is scheduled to meet on May 30 to consider and approve the audited financial results for the quarter and financial year ended March 31, 2018. The resignations of three directors and removal of Tempest has cast a shadow over the ongoing attempt to sell Fortis as these four directors were among the five who had voted in favour of Munjals-Burmans' Rs 1,800-crore bid for the healthcare firm.
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