IHH Healthcare of Malaysia offers to acquire Fortis at ₹ 160 share

Fortis Healthcare Ltd. said on Friday that Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare Berhad had offered to buy the company at ₹160 per share, heating up the takeover battle for the firm.

Earlier this week, Fortis received a sweetened offer from Manipal Hospitals Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. and TPG at ₹ 155 per share. Hero Enterprise Investment Office and the Burman Family Office have made a binding offer to invest a total of ₹ 1,250 crore through a preferential share allotment at at least ₹156 rupees a share, according to a Fortis exchange filing on Thursday.

IHH letter, which was made public by Fortis on Friday, said that its request for due diligence primarily stemmed from the inability of the statutory auditors of the company to opine on its financial position as at December 31, 2017, and regulatory investigations that were currently under way.

IHH also noted that the Manipal and TPG offer involved various complex steps over a prolonged period and it could provide an alternative option which would offer a better options to the company’s shareholders at attractive valuation.