Member Info for Kendall12

I suffer from Dyslexia - surely you must have noticed the way above average number of mistakes in my pots. Nevertheles my sincerest apologies for referring to Rothschild as Rothschilds

I did not suggest that Harwood name the other bidders - merely that they referred in the presentation to there being 2 bidders as apposed a number of interested parties.

Its Rothchild's that need to deliver so there had better be some substance to the press reports siting on-going discussions with other interested parties following the withdrawal of Triton and Bridgepoint.

Probably best we can hope for is an RNS tomorrow which actually names one of these muted other interested parties thereby setting the PUSU clock running again, albeit onw would expect a bid having to be north of £2.30.

Generally getting involved in an insitutional carve up does not reward small shareholders. Harwoods view that it is stuffed full of real estate, has a great occupational health business and new management that know how to run a healthcare business and suck out costs seemingly was not shared by Bridgepoint and Triton. May well have been just talking up his own book as the presentation was made during the PUSU period. He also only referred to there being 2 bidders.

The difference between you and me is that I don't laugh at others misfortunes and losses. I just laugh at dumb people trying to make fun of others.

Come back when its £1.25.

Not sure how you pivot from a Bid Consortium (which is a good fit for Healthcare assets) to an MBO which is not a good fit with North Atlantic Smaller Company Trust business model.

Tosca's support would surely depend on any Consortium bid price.

Unfortunately the presentation referred to just 2 current bidders but it was released on 5th March.

In these troubled times a good old belly laugh is always welcome and your posts always provide that in spades. Not sure how they trash the share price, perhaps stink bomb attacks on the clinics.

Anyway assume they accomplish this Trumpodian mission - then then have to launch a mandatory offer to all other shareholders at £1.50. I dont think it takes mystic meg to predict the reposnse - its actually probably less than the real estate development value of the sites.

The original Sky News release back in January referred to a pack of buyout firms (extracts below). Maybe we have focused too much on just Bridgepoint / Triton being the only two firms that have been named?

Britain's largest operator of private hospitals is in talks with a pack of buyout firms about a takeover that would result in it becoming the latest FTSE-250 company to disappear from the London stock market.

Sky News has learnt that private equity firms including Bridgepoint and Triton Partners are exploring bids for Spire Healthcare Group, which runs nearly 40 of the UK's biggest private hospitals.

City sources said the pair were among a broader group of parties which had expressed interest in making offers for the company ahead of a deadline set by its advisers this week.

A number of other financial investors and overseas trade buyers are also thought to be part of the process, which was initiated amid pressure from major shareholders.

Kjn2 - my apologies I am wrong on that and you are correct the trigger is identification of the potential offeror

Kjn2 - your understanding is incorrect, the PUSU applies to all potential bidders whether named or unamed. Think about it, by simply being unamed you gain a sigificant advantage over a named bidder. The PUSU period is triggered when a potential offeror is publicly identified such as with a press leak or by a company RNS. Portential offerors can remain ananymous and no need to issue an RNS to name them.

The question I have is why didn't Bridgepoint simply deliver the intention to make an offer at £2.30 and let Rotchilds to put it before the Board who have a fiduciary duty to convey the terms of that offer to all shareholders, even if it is below a price that major shareholders have indicated they would accept.

It seems likely to me that Rothchilds advised Bridgepoint not to bother making a firm intention to bid as it would have no chance of flying and they walked One would think that Rothchilds must have another strategy/ good reason to do this and preclude consideration of a bid at any level by the SPI shareholders.

Kyn2 - any price negogiation comes before the end of the PUSU period at which point a firm intention to bid including price must be made. The bidder is committed to the terms of that offer.

The very purpose of the Takeover Code is to prevent company's and their shareholders being put in limbo for extended periods of time whilst potential bidders come and go and enter into price negogiations. The PUSU sets out a very percise timeframe and that is why there must be a very good reason for the Panel to sanction a second extension - price negogiations between the target and bidder is not one of those reasons. Bridgepoint could not have bid £2.30 and then entered into price negogiations.

Any other potential bidders must lodge their bids by 5 pm today or if the Board can provide good reason they can apply for an extension on their behalf- but they will have to have solid grounds for doing so to get the Panel to sanction it. More than one remaining potentail bidder and any new bidder would help enormously as long as the Panel believes their is a real possibility of a bid.

Guess we will find out on Monday

No formal intention to make an offer was ever made - it was muted in the press that one was being put togther at £2.30 but Bridgepoint walked - question is why?

The Boards duty is to inform all shareholders of any offer with their recommendation as to whether it should be accepted or rejected under the counsel of Rothschilds.

Seems like a game of brinkmanship has been played out here - Bridgepoint must have been aware that £2.30 was never going to be high enough.

If there are other interested patries as reported they do not have to be publicly named via an RNS but they are subject to the current PUSU which ends today at 5 pm.

Normal protocol will be a RNS on the following working day on Monday at 7 am or shortly thereafter.

That RNS will a) announce that their are no intentions to make a bid from any party or, b) that the PUSU preriod will be extended to accomodate the other interested parties, or c) an intention to make a bid will be made which must include the level of that bid ( I doubt this will happen given the hastily arranged meeting last night but who knows) or d) that the sale process has ended and that the Board are now taking alternative steps under the startegic review to unlock sharehareholder value - hopefully if this is the case thay will also outline those steps.

It would seem Rothchilds have either played a blinder or completely screwed up- thats for others to decide.

Spire says sale talks continue after Bridgepoint, Triton walk away

By Reuters

March 20, 20266:20 PM GMTUpdated 5 mins ago

Companies

Bridgepoint Group PLC

Spire Healthcare Group PLC

March 20 (Reuters) - Spire Healthcare (SPI.L), opens new tab said on Friday that buyout talks with private equity firms Bridgepoint (BPTB.L), opens new tab and Triton ​have ended, but it was still in discussions with ‌other parties for a potential sale.

"There can be no certainty that any offer will be made for the company nor as to the ​terms of any offer, if made," Spire said in a ​statement.

Have you got a link to this or is it just regurgitation of the Sky report ?

Bridgepoint and Triton abandon Spire Healthcare bids amid valuation gap

The board of Spire Healthcare Group is meeting this evening to discuss the company's future ownership after two private equity firms abandoned plans to make offers for the company.

Sky News understands that Spire directors, led by chairman Sir Ian Cheshire, are meeting to discuss interest from other potential offerors in Britain's biggest private hospital operator.

The withdrawals of Bridgepoint and Triton come less than 24 hours after I reported that the former was drawing up plans to lodge an offer worth about 230p-a-share for the company.

That, though, seems to have been at odds with the desire of the company and some of its major shareholders to see a sale take place at a price of at least 250p-a-share.

In its withdrawal statement, Bridgepoint said: "Bridgepoint is grateful for the efforts of the Spire Healthcare board over the course of its participation in the Formal Sale Process, but Bridgepoint has been unable to get sufficient confidence as to a transaction structure that would work for all stakeholders at this time."

Triton's statement was briefer but is now also obliged to sit on the sidelines for six months (with certain exceptions).

The main question now is whether any other bidder remains interested in making an offer at a level which could be recommended by Sir Ian and his colleagues.

Financing conditions are undoubtedly likely to become tougher for sizeable transactions, with interest rates now more likely to stay higher for longer amid the economic fallout of the conflict in the Middle East.

Spire has already warned of tough trading conditions, and will have been hoping to escape the glare of public markets during what may be a protracted period of sluggish growth.

I would expect the company to issue an update later this evening; and I would anticipate that depending upon the content of that update, shares in Spire - which closed up nearly 7% at 190p on Friday - will be under significant pressure come Monday morning.

Bridgepoint and Spire both declined to comment further.

I may get pelters for this post and maybe rightly so. However I find the chain of events and the timing of the same a little difficult to undertstand.

Yesterday it was reported that Bidgepoint were considering a £2.30 per share offer and today they withdrew there intention to make an offer as did Triton on the very last working day of the PUSU period. I question why both waited until the last day of the PUSU period to pull out. They could not oth have learnt something new today so why not pull out sooner. Where did Sky get their £2.30 number from - whatever you think of Kleinsman I am not sure he would just make it up. Perhaps it was leaked to flush out another buyer ? I just dont know.

If there is another potential it has until 5 pm tomorrow to make a bid or for SPI to request a further extension of the PUSU period.

Sky are now reporting "'Sky News understands that Spire directors, led by chairman Sir Ian Cheshire, are meeting to discuss interest from other potential offerors in Britain's biggest private hospital operator.

Is it possible that a higher offer could drop tomorrow and that this offer was too rich for both Bidgepopint & Triton so they withdrew with their tails between their legs.

I think SPI should be making its own announcement, as yet it has remained quiet on events.

Decent theory and fits quite neatly with the timing of the director LTIP awards. I have would have expected those to have been put on hold until after theh outcome of teh strategic review and any resulting sale of the business or other corporate action.

Sky is not the whole or the correct story , best to completely ignore

Best to ignore Sky's unhelpful reporting. Back on 24th January Sky reported buyout firms plotting a £1.5 billion takeover of Spire (£3.70 share). Seemingly Spire has lost £500 million in value in just 2 months.

Its all a load of nonsense.

As of now there is no formal bid on the table and that seems to be confusing the piggy bank players. All we have is a press article which refers to a potential bid of £1 b / £2.30 share bid subject to further talks and a likely 2nd PUSU extension.

The leak of this information I presume must originate from Bridgepoint and I would guess this has been done for tactical resons which I dont claim to understand. Leaking details of a bid/potential bid by the company is a major no-no under the Code.

We have no idea what Bridgepoint would pay for Spire and we have no idea how much Triton would pay. Furthermore we have no idea who any other bidders might be and how much they might pay.

It seems to me that we will enter a further PUSU extension and the only valid reason why this would be sanctioned is because there are one or more potentail bidders in need of more time to formulate their bids in a highly competitive situation. If Bridgepoint were the only bidder I can see no way that the extension to PUSU period would be sanctioned.

I think we are now moving to the beginning of the end and fully expect bids to be much higher than £2.30. £2.30 is purely tactical and Bridgepoint must be fully aware from some time ago that there is no possibility whatsoever of it being accepted.

Shareholders don't sell bricks and mortar for less than its market value and throw in a business generating EBITDA £260m in growth sector for free.

A second extension, if granted, is hugely positive in my view and all we can do is sit back and watch things play out.

Totally agree, this a very attaractive AI/Robotics play - this sector will undergo transformational change. I was in Shanghai earler this year and Robots alaredy policing train stations, delivering takeouts and performing surgical procedures.

AI will also transform the self asseement / referal process.

A lot of focus on the property portfolio, almost as if the opearting business does not exist and has no value

Market mailaise today in conjunction MM playing their normal gains to trigger stops and load up, trading was still thin and stronger on the buy side. All main shareholders sitting tight. News should come tomorrow or even on Saturday.