Malaysia's IHH Healthcare and Manipal-TPG combine have put in fresh binding bids for cash-strapped Fortis Healthcare, while erstwhile leading suitor Munjal-Burman combine has backed out of the race for the troubled chain.
In a regulatory filing, Fortis Healthcare said it has fresh binding bids without specifying details. The Board of Directors of the company has received Binding Bids on July 3, 2018, Fortis Healthcare said in a BSE filing on Tuesday.
The binding bids will be evaluated by the board in consultation with its advisors, it added. While Malaysia's IHH Healthcare stated that it has put in binding bid, sources said Manipal-TPG combine have also put in their bid.
The Munjal-Burman combine has, however, not submitted fresh binding bids on the last day, a source said. The earlier board of Fortis accepted the the Munjal-Burman combine's offer to invest Rs 1,800 crore in the healthcare chain.
However, the company decided to call for fresh bidding when a new board was reconstituted after a group of institutional shareholders sought the removal of four directors.
As per the fresh criteria put up by the Fortis board on May 29, the potential buyer had to make a minimum investment of Rs 1,500 crore into Fortis Healthcare by way of preferential allotment.
Apart from having a plan for funding the acquisition of RHT Health Trust (RHT), suitors should also have a plan for providing exit to private equity investors of diagnostic arm SRL.
Among other key criteria, the bids had be unconditional as well as mention about the source of funds for the transaction and elaborate on the plans for retention of current management and employees.
The backing out of Munjal-Burman combine from the race comes days after Fortis Healthcare announced that it has initiated legal action to recover about Rs 500 crore of funds given as inter-corporate deposits (ICDs) to the firms contolled by Malvinder and Shivinder Singh.
The loans were given without board approval or enough collaterals. The company had also stated that market regulator SEBI has also ordered a forensic probe into the company's matters.