TPG, Carlyle in talks for Fortis stake – report

Ahead of the potential deal, Fortis plans to sell a 6.5% stake through a stock auction, to increase the public shareholding to 25%, the level deemed appropriate for listed firms by the stock market regulator.

The move - reported by LiveMint - would enable Fortis' promoters, the Singh brothers, to reduce their shareholding in line with the regulation, which needs to be done by June 2013. It would also assist the company to pay down some of its debt.

"Fortis Healthcare is in the process of raising around $250 million through a combination of equity and convertible debt instruments from PE firms," said a source. For the sale to the private equity firms, Fortis' shares are expected to be priced INR110-120 apiece, a significant premium to the INR101 at which they were trading on Thursday morning.

The terms of the transaction could be finalized over the next fortnight. Once both deals have been completed, the Singh brothers would own 60% of the business, compared to 81.48% at present.

In January, Fortis completed the bolt-on acquisition of Singapore-based Fortis Healthcare International for $665 million. The overseas assets which now form part of Fortis Healthcare include Hong Kong primary care network Quality Healthcare, Australasian dental care network Dental Corporation, Singapore-based Fortis Speciality Hospital, the 350-bed Lanka Hospitals Corporation, Vietnam's Hoan My Medical Corporation and Dubai's SRL Laboratories.

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• Topics
• Healthcare
• South Asia
• PIPEs
• The Carlyle Group
• TPG Capital
• India
• healthcare
• PIPE
• GIC Special Investments