(Alliance News) - Spire Healthcare Group PLC shareholder Fidelity International will reject a takeover offer from Australia's Ramsay Health Care Ltd, as it believes the offer "materially undervalues" the business, Sky News reported Thursday.
Fidelity is the biggest institutional investor in Spire, a private hospitals group, with an interest of just under 8.7%. Mediclinic International PLC, Spire's largest shareholder at 29.9%, has accepted Ramsay's offer, as have Spire's independent directors.
Fidelity Special Situations Fund portfolio manager Alex Wright commented that Ramsay's bid "materially undervalues the shares, and Fidelity International will not be accepting the bid at this level".
Ramsay 240 pence per share, valuing all of Spire at GBP999.6 million.
"To put this offer in perspective, the board turned down a previous 300p per share takeover approach in 2017 when the stock had recently traded at 350p," Wright added.
"Spire Healthcare, one of the UK's largest private hospitals, is well placed in the UK recovery post COVID-19, which should feed into future earnings growth."
https://news.sky.com/story/spire-shareholder-fidelity-vows-to-oppose-1bn-ramsay-takeover-12329121
Spire Healthcare shares closed 0.4% lower at GBP242.12 pence each in London on Thursday.
By Will Paige; willpaige@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
