India’s Fortis picks Hero-Burman offer after five-way bidding war

 India’s Fortis Healthcare Ltd’s (FOHE.NS) board has accepted an investment offer worth 18 billion rupees ($ 267.7 million) from the Hero-Burman consortium, following a fiercely contested bidding war for the cash-strapped hospital chain.

Hero Enterprise Investment Office and the Burman Family Office had made a binding offer to invest 8 billion rupees through a preferential share issue at 167 rupees apiece and 10 billion rupees via preferential issue of warrants at 176 rupees per warrant.

The recommendation by Fortis’ board would be sent to shareholders for approval, Fortis said.

Hero Enterprise is an investment company formed by Sunil Munjal, a member of the family that runs India’s largest motorcycle maker Hero. The Burman Family Office is the private investment arm of the family that owns consumer goods company Dabur India.

Other firms in the takeover battle include Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare (IHHH.KL), a consortium of Manipal Hospitals and TPG Capital, Radiant Life Care, backed by KKR & Co (KKR.N), and China’s Fosun International (0656.HK).

The keen interest in Fortis, which runs some 30 hospitals in India, comes as investors look to tap soaring demand for private healthcare in the country against the backdrop of a stretched public healthcare system.

Private hospitals could also be boosted from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans to implement a healthcare program aimed at providing insurance cover to about half of India’s population.