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Fortis Says Manipal’s New Offer Will Limit Ability To Run Competitive Bid Process

Fortis says Manipal-TPG’s one-time waiver from the exclusivity provisions is subject to tough conditions.

A member of medical staff secures his face mask inside a operating theater at a hospital in Birmingham, U.K. (Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/Bloomberg)
A member of medical staff secures his face mask inside a operating theater at a hospital in Birmingham, U.K. (Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/Bloomberg)

Fortis Healthcare Ltd. today said the revised offer from TPG-backed Manipal Health Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. will limit its ability to get the best value for its assets.

Manipal’s latest offer gives the troubled healthcare company a one-time waiver from the exclusivity provisions detailed in an agreement signed on March 27, but seeks to impose “additional onerous” conditions, Fortis said in an exchange filing today. This would “limit the ability of Fortis to run a competitive bid process if such conditions were to be accepted,” the filing added.

According to the conditions listed by Manipal in its letter to Fortis:

  • Fortis needs to disclose the identity of the bidders and details of their offers to Manipal. The board must also set a deadline for bidders to make a final and binding offer.
  • Manipal will get the right to counter any new binding offer, it will get at least seven days more from the deadline set by the board.
  • Fortis’ board will also have to present Manipal’s offer to company’s shareholders if it picks an offer from other bidders.

The latest proposal by Manipal Health values Fortis at Rs 6,322 crore as against Rs 6,061 crore earlier. The consortium also said that it will consider a merger of Fortis and SRL, after an initial demerger of both the businesses.

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TPG-Backed Manipal Health Revises Binding Offer For Fortis

At least five investor groups, including Manipal, are eyeing to takeover Fortis after its founders Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh stepped down from the board amid allegations of siphoning funds. Among the four remaining bidders, the Burman and Munjal families, Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare and KKR-backed Radiant Life Care Pvt. Ltd. submitted revised binding offers, while China's Fosun made a non-binding bid to buy out Fortis.

The healthcare chain had recently appointed an advisory panel chaired by Deepak Kapoor, former chairman and chief executive officer of PriceWaterhouse Coopers, India to evaluate all binding offers. Ahead of the committee’s meeting tomorrow, Renuka Ramnath stepped down as its member citing “pre-occupation”.

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Fortis Forms Advisory Panel To Review Takeover Offers