IHH puts money where its mouth is, makes binding offer for Fortis

PETALING JAYA: IHH Healthcare Bhd, which previously made a nonbinding offer to invest up to 40 billion rupees (RM2.36 billion) for much sought after Fortis Healthcare Ltd, has revised its offer to a binding immediate equity infusion of 6.5 billion rupees without prior due diligence and a non-binding proposal for a subsequent infusion of up to 33.5 billion rupees.

The board of Fortis has until May 4 to respond to the offer, after which the proposal will be withdrawn.

The binding offer comes with a stipulation for the right to appoint two directors to the board of Fortis and the monies from the immediate capital injection be used mainly for immediate dues to employees, creditors and debt servicing needs of Fortis.

It is also subject to confirmation by Fortis that IHH will be given immediate access to carry out a legal and financial due diligence and the receipt of applicable approval from Fortis’ shareholders and any relevant regulatory approvals.

IHH plans to complete the due diligence exercise within three weeks and to agree on the terms of the definitive documents in relation to the subsequent equity infusion during a four week exclusivity period which will run concurrently with the due diligence exercise.

Upon the completion of the subsequent equity infusion, IHH said it expects appropriate representation on the board of Fortis to commensurate with its stake in Fortis.

At this juncture, IHH said, the parties have not entered into any discussions, negotiations or transactions in relation to the revised proposal.

IHH does not need the approval of shareholders for the revised offer. The group advised its shareholders or investors to exercise caution and seek appropriate independent advice when dealing in its shares.

IHH was down one sen at RM6.09 yesterday on volume of 4.18 million shares.