Fortis Healthcare board today defended its choice to go with the Rs 1,800 crore bid from Munjals-Burmans combine even as IHH Healthcare and Manipal-TPG combine questioned the decision saying their respective offers were more compelling for the shareholders.

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The majority of the healthcare chain's board opted for the Munjals-Burmans offer keeping in mind the certainty and liquidity issues, company director Brian W Tempest said.

The board's decision, however, did not go down well with investors with the company's shares tanking nearly 3 per cent on the bourses. Fortis Healthcare stock declined 2.66 per cent to close at Rs 148.40 on BSE. Intra-day, it slumped 4.39 per cent to Rs 145.75.

Earlier in the day, addressing media, Tempest justified the board's decision to go with the offer from Munjals-Burmans combine which had put their hat in the ring after Fortis board had approved an offer from Manipal-TPG combine on March 28.

"We looked at all the binding bids from the point of view of certainty and liquidity for the company...We took advice from the expert committee, from two financial organisations and from a legal organisation," Tempest told reporters here.

When asked if the decision was unanimous, he said three members of the board, who have been with Fortis, voted for the Munjals-Burmans bid and out of five new members two voted for the bid and three voted for other options.

Another major reason for accepting the bid was that "they have several investments in the healthcare sector".

Accepting the offer was a culmination of a process which started two years ago, Tempest said, adding that it would now be presented to shareholders for approval.

"There will be a shareholders' meeting on this within 30 days and I am positive that there will be a support from the shareholders for the decision," he said.

Hero Enterprises Chairman Sunil Kant Munjal told

 

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)