(Alliance News) - NMC Health early Monday confirmed it has received "highly preliminary approaches" from private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and GK Investment Holding Group, regarding possible offers for the UAE-focused private healthcare company.
The Mail on Sunday had reported that KKR had held talks with NMC Health senior executives in the past few weeks.
NMC Health shares had closed down 22% on Friday in London and are down 60% so far in 2020. The company's current market capitalisation of GBP1.46 billion compares to GBP5.5 billion a year ago.
NMC said no proposal has been made by either party, and there have been no discussions as to the terms of any possible offer. Further, "there can be no certainty that any offer will be made", NMC added.
In December, US short selling firm Muddy Waters Capital accused NMC of manipulating its balance sheet to understate debt, which the company firmly denied.
In a separate announcement, NMC said it has been informed by Joint Non-Executive Chair Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty that his advisers are conducting a legal review in order to verify the size of the total interests of himself and associated family holding companies. The company said this suggests that the total beneficial interests of Shetty have been "incorrectly reported historically to the company and the market".
NMC added that its operations continue to perform strongly and expects to report full-year 2019 results in-line with management's expectations.
Shetty also owns currency provider Finablr which said independent directors are to review "purported arrangements" between major shareholders, including Shetty. Finablr said it is not yet known how the arrangements may have affected respective the respective interests in the company.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called down 0.2% at 7,455.20
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Hang Seng: down 0.6% at 27,253.26
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.6% at 23,685.98
DJIA: closed down 277.26 points, 0.9%, at 29,102.51
S&P 500: closed down 0.5% at 3,327.71
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GBP: down at USD1.2887 (USD1.2907)
EUR: firm at USD1.0953 (USD1.0948)
Gold: up at USD1,571.79 per ounce (USD1,567.40)
Oil (Brent): down at USD54.36 a barrel (USD54.86)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Monday's Key Economic Events still to come
US President Donald Trump releases fiscal 2021 budget proposal.
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Millions of people in China were returning to work Monday after an extended holiday designed to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, which has killed more than 900 people in the country. At least 40,000 people in China have now been infected by the virus, believed to have emerged late last year in Hubei province's capital Wuhan. And although the World Health Organisation has said there are tentative signs the epidemic is stabilising in China, the agency's director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned that the number of cases recorded overseas could be just "the tip of the iceberg". His comments came as an advance team of WHO international experts left late Sunday for China, led by Bruce Aylward, a veteran of previous health emergencies. In an attempt to contain the virus, cities in Hubei have been locked down and transport routes across the country cut to stop the movement of hundreds of millions of people who usually visit family during the annual Lunar New Year holiday.
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Parts of the UK are braced for blizzards and up to 20cm of snow in the wake of Storm Ciara, with travel disruption set to continue. Some areas saw a month and a half's rainfall in just 24 hours and gusts of more than 90 miles per hour swept across the country on Sunday, bringing widespread flooding. Thousands of people were left without power, some homes were evacuated, buildings were damaged and sporting occasions postponed. Flights, ferries and trains all saw cancellations and delays, while drivers faced treacherous conditions with floodwater, fallen trees and other debris closing roads.
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UK retail footfall declined in January, although promisingly at a slower rate than the year prior, with visitor numbers in shopping centres rising for the first time in nearly three years. Data from Springboard Footfall Monitor & Insights showed footfall was down 0.5% annually in January, comparing favourably to the same month in 2019, when it dropped 0.7% year-on-year. In December, footfall across retail destinations in the UK fell by 2.5% from the year prior. In retail parks, footfall improved by 1.4% in January "demonstrating their ability to bridge the gap between functionality and experience", Springboard said. In Shopping centres, footfall edged 0.2% higher, registering its first growth since March 2017. It was only the third month in four years that footfall has risen in shopping centres.
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The shape of Ireland's next government remains uncertain after a historic general election saw Sinn Fein crash the long-standing domination of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. While counting will continue through Monday, and the final results remain a way off, it is clear Ireland now has three big players on its political stage. In a remarkable result, Sinn Fein emerged as the most popular party in the country, securing the most first preference votes and topping the polls in the vast majority of constituencies across the state. The party received 24.5% of the vote share, Fianna Fail got 22.2% and Fine Gael 20.9%. Despite that, Fianna Fail remains best placed to secure the most seats, primarily due to Sinn Fein's failure to field enough candidates to capitalise on its unexpected surge at the polls.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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GOLDMAN CUTS WHITBREAD TO 'SELL' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 4200 (4400) PENCE
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BERENBERG RAISES ASOS TO 'BUY' (HOLD) - PRICE TARGET 4200 (3000) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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British American Tobacco is looking at introducing cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabis flavourings in its products as smokers turn away from traditional tobacco, PA reported. BAT, which sells Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Benson & Hedges, has come under pressure to win over more vape fans as cigarette sales dwindle. The boss of the firm's Southampton research facility, which leads its development of non-cigarette products, has told the PA news agency it is "evaluating" the science and regulations of potentially using CBD and cannabis flavourings. Allen Griffiths, head of reduced risk substantiation at BAT, told PA it was monitoring opportunities to use CBD in its products, but stressed it was not yet "actively pursuing" the usage for its new product launches.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Service office provider Workspace Group said it has appointed Whitbread Corporate Finance Director David Benson to be its new chief financial officer. Workspace said Benson will assume the role on April 1.
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COMPANIES - GLOBAL
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Franco-Dutch airline Air France KLM reported an overall rise in passenger numbers for January, with a strong performance from the Americas in particular. Total passenger numbers for the month rose by 2.8% year-on-year to 6.9 million. Traffic in North America was up 6.7%, and in Latin America by 3.8%. In Asia, traffic rose by 4.3%, while in African & the Middle Ease it was down 1.0% and up 0.7% in the Caribbean & Indian Ocean. Overall, traffic climbed by 2.9% year-on-year, as long-haul traffic rose by 3.3%, with short & medium traffic up by 0.9%.
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Monday's Shareholder Meetings
PureCircle
Investec (re demerger of global asset management business)
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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