Buying and selling to go on: Malvinder

After raking in thousands of crores from two big ticket exits from Ranbaxy and Parkway, the Singh family today asserted it will not shy away from buying and selling stakes in businesses in future.

The Singh family-owned domestic hospital chain Fortis Healthcare today agreed to sell its entire 25.37 per cent stake in Singapore's Parkway to rival Malaysia's Khazanah for an estimated about Rs 3,800 crore, ending a nearly two-month long battle for control over Parkway.

"We are certainly looking at entering into new businesses and exiting certain other businesses whenever opportunity comes," Malvinder Mohan Singh said when asked if Fortis Group would sell more of its successful ventures in future.

The Singh family is into various businesses including financial services through Religare Enterprises.

He said during time when the company was involved in the Parkway transactions, it came across many opportunities and will "evaluate" those in due course of time.

"We are passionate, but not obsessed (for acquisitions). For our shareholders, we won't hesitate to do... Whether it is acquisition, divestment or expansion," he added.

There are many opportunities available for "us internally and externally", Singh said.

When asked if the company will continue to look for acquisitions, Singh: "We will identify other exciting opportunities. We will focus in the Middle East, Asia and Indian markets, where we will look for greenfield expansions, management control and acquisitions."

In 2008, the Singh family exited from Gurgaon-based drug major Ranbaxy by selling their entire 34.82 per cent stake to Japan's Daiichi Sankyo for about Rs 10,000 crore.

However, in the same year, Singh family's diagnostic chain Super Religare Laboratories (SRL) had acquired Dubai- based laboratory in the Gulf -- Mena Healthcare for $20 million (about Rs 90 crore). SRL, in last month also, acquired the diagnostics unit of Piramal Healthcare for Rs 600 crore.

Justifying its exit from Parkway, Singh said: "At SGD 3.8 per share, it was already stretched out. We think at some point of time it was not economically viable... We have taken into account what is best for every shareholder of Fortis."

Khazanah's arm -- Integrated Healthcare Holdings (IHHL), which owns 23.32 per cent stake in Parkway, had made a partial offer at SGD 3.78 per share in May and Fortis countered it with a $2.3-billion full offer at SGD 3.8 per share.

"At the end of the day, you have to take an economic call. You can't take an emotional call on the assets you want to own," Shivinder Singh, Fortis Managing Director and younger brother of Malvinder, said.