Manipal-TPG 'evaluating' position after IHH and Munjal-Burmans raise bids

Fortis Healthcare | Aberdeen Standard Investments (Asia) Ltd increased stake in company to 5.02 percent from 4.96 percent earlier via open market purchases.

The Manipal-TPG alliance said it is "evaluating" its bid for Fortis Healthcare after IHH Healthcare and Munjal-Burmans raised their respective offers on Tuesday, the last day for submitting binding bids.

Manipal-TPG still have one more chance to get back into the bidding race as the agreement they signed with Fortis has a right-to-revise clause.

Earlier, Fortis had said that the Manipal-TPG consortium would have a chance to revise its offer by May 6, based on bids received on May 1.

This was according to ‘obligations’ towards the Manipal-TPG consortium, Fortis said.

IHH raised its bid by 9.4 percent to Rs 175 per share, compared to its earlier quote of Rs 160 per share. The Munjal-Burmans raised their bid by 7.2 percent to Rs 172 per share, from Rs 160 earlier. Munjal-Burmans have offered to invest Rs 1800 crore directly without seeking due diligence.

KKR backed Radiant Life Care has put in its bid valuing Fortis at Rs 165 per share.

Manipal-TPG have revised their bid thrice so far, and their last offer valued Fortis stock at Rs 161.6 per share, which is still below the bids by IHH, Munjal-Burmans and Radiant.

The bidding window for Fortis had closed on Tuesday at 12 pm.

“While we note the revised bids that have been submitted for Fortis Healthcare, the fundamentals of these offers compared to TPG-Manipal's proposition remain unchanged," said Manipal-TPG said in a statement reacting to the IHH and Munjal-Burmans offer.

"We will continue to evaluate our position and determine the best opportunities for both our business and Fortis stakeholders, including shareholders, and we remain confident that we are the only partner with the both industry credibility and expertise to bring long-term value to Fortis,” the statement added.

The expert advisory council appointed by Fortis Board, consisting of Deepak Kapoor and Lalit Bhasin, will evaluate the bids after May 6 and recommend the best offer to Fortis' board which will be meeting on May 10 to take decision.

It's now up to Manipal-TPG to decide on whether or not to revise their bid, by May 6.