Munjals, Burmans extend bid validity for Fortis Healthcare till May 4

Sunil Munjal-backed Hero Enterprise and the Burman's of Dabur group have extended the validity of their revised Rs 15-billion offer for the Fortis Healthcare till May 4. 

The move comes in the backdrop of Fortis Healthcare Board’s decision to select new investors on Thursday. The Board has appointed an expert advisory committee headed by former PWC India Chief Executive Officer Deepak Kapoor to advise it on multiple offers.

Hero Enterprise and Burmans and Manipal-TPG combine have submitted binding bids, while three others including IHH, Fosun, and Radiant Life Care have sent non-binding offers to Fortis Healthcare.

On Monday, Fortis Healthcare informed the BSE about the Hero-Burman offer to extend their bid validity. According to the notification sent to the BSE, all other bid conditions remain unchanged.

Last week, Sunil Munjal and the Burmans revised their offer of Rs 12.5 billion to Rs 15 billion. The revised offer includes an investment of Rs 5 billion through preferential issue of equity shares and Rs 10 billion through preferential issue of warrants, based on current business and financial position of the firm as reflected in the company’s various public filings.

While Munjal and Burmans have waived off their demand for due diligence, they have demanded two Board seats. The Fortis Board has decided it will accept the binding offers only and this has led to displeasure among some of the potential investors and shareholder advisory firms.

The fact Fortis has received five competing offers shows its assets have potential, according to Amit Tandon, a Mumbai-based managing director at Institutional Investor Advisory Services. “The Fortis directors should not exclude any suitors from the process and should try to work with companies that have put in non-binding bids,” Tandon said, according to a Bloomberg report.