Chicken Shit Bid From Fortis

Fortis came up with the stupid counter bid of S$3.80 which is soooo much higher than Khazanah's $3.78 bid for Parkway Holdings.

You know how it is that you can tell the entire character and makeup of someone by just a small sum of money.

Fortis has revealed their strategy for all to see with its stupid bid:

- its a slightly higher bid as I am waiting for better offers, or I am buying time for some other parties to make me a better offer

- seriously, I don't want to be running or owning Parkway for the long run

- I am trying to frustrate Khazanah so that they will pay me S$3.90 to get me out

Actually, if I was Khazanah, I would call Fortis' bluff and say "yours". Let them own Parkway - remember the whole attraction of Parkway is in its expansion into Malaysia. Let's just see how attractive Parkway will be under Fortis. What do you think will happen with their relations with Pantai after that? Do you think Parkway will be able to expand so easily into Malaysia after ousting Khazanah (or rather, frustrating Khazanah).

Woooiii, Fortis, close your mouth and just accept the bid la. First time dealing in Southeast Asia, izzit!! If you are serious about getting Parkway, bid like a man, not chicken shit like that.

Well, Khazanah is dealing with Malvinder and Shivinder Singh, and they are not your normal conservative businessmen. Both were founders of Ranbaxy Pharamaceuticals, and they sold the company to Dai-ichi Sankyo. Ask Dai-ichi Sankyo about Ranbaxy now, they would be shaking their heads and taking out their small seppuku swords.

In 2008, Daiichi Sankyo bought a 63.9 percent stake, including the founders' entire stake, in Ranbaxy, aiming to take advantage of rising demand for generic drugs. But the stake lost more than two thirds of its value by the end of last financial year primarily hit by the weak rupee and the U.S. FDA ban. Ranbaxy forecast a loss of $150 million in 2009, on a 9 percent fall in sales to $1.4 billion.

Within a short amount of time the Japanese had to remove Malvinder, who was asked to stay as chairman and CEO of Ranbaxy. Within a short period of time following the sale, Ranbaxy has been hit by a U.S. ban on some products for alleged falsification of data, and by foreign exchange hedges being hit by a weaker rupee.

So, Khazanah, beware as you are dealing with the two brothers with a $3bn war chest, but be prepared to walk away. There is not just ONE route to your destination for healthcare industry. Do not be cowed into over paying for Parkway, knowing full well that the attraction of Parkway is in leveraging the company into Malaysia and then beyond. Without Khazanah "strategic policies" Parkway won't be as attractive. Let the brothers get it at $3.80 and then they will have to sell back to you at $3.20 within 2 years. They only came in the company less than 4 months back and is obviously looking for a quick trade - give it to them and see what they can do with it (I know, find another sucker Japanese company to buy Parkway).




By pitching a higher offer, Fortis aims to prevent Khazanah from taking over Asia's biggest hospital group which runs 16 hospitals.

SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI: India's Fortis Healthcare and its founding family launched a bid valuing Singapore hospital operator Parkway Holdings at $3.1 billion (RM10 billion), topping a rival offer by Malaysian state fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

Fortis, which controls just over 25 per cent of Parkway, had intended to build a controlling stake in the firm before Khazanah made a surprise US$835 million (RM2.7 billion) partial offer in May to lift its stake to 51.5 per cent.

"Fortis is just testing the water with this offer. Had it been serious it could have made an offer Khazanah wouldn't have been able to match," said Ranjit Kapadia, an analyst with the Mumbai-based HDFC Securities, adding that he expects Khazanah to match this offer.

By pitching a higher offer, RHC Healthcare, 49 per cent owned by Fortis and the remainder by the hospital chain's controlling Singh brothers, aims to prevent Khazanah from taking over Asia's biggest hospital group which runs 16 hospitals.

Both Fortis and Khazanah want to use Parkway, which runs hospitals in Singapore, Malaysia, India and China, to spearhead their regional expansion in the booming healthcare market. A successful bid by Fortis may also put a question mark on Parkway's expansion into Malaysia as most of the Singapore firm's operations in the country are carried out through Pantai, in which it holds a 40 per cent stake and Khazanah, the balance.



Khazanah, which declined to comment on Fortis' offer, has holdings mostly concentrated in Southeast Asian financial firms, healthcare and telecommunications. The fund already owns stakes in healthcare firms across Asia, including Apollo Hospitals, a rival to Fortis in India. "On the part of Fortis, I think their intention is essentially to get a better exit price," Singapore-based UOB Kay Hian analyst Andrew Chow said.

Fortis and billionaire Indian brothers Malvinder and Shivinder Singh have already secured funds for the acquisition, said Sachindra Nath, CEO of Religare, which is also controlled by the Singh brothers and is the strategic adviser to Fortis. RHC Healthcare and the Singh brothers are offering to buy the shares they do not own in Parkway for S$3.80 (RM8.82) a share, or 2 Singapore cents more than the S$3.78 (RM8.77) offered by Khazanah. The offer price is at a slim to Parkway's last traded price of S$3.57 (RM8.28). Parkway shares are suspended from trading.