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Remgro Limited, an investment holding led by South African billionaire Johann Rupert, has revealed that it is seeking a 50-50 partnership in the potential buyout and delisting of its largest asset, Mediclinic International Plc. Mediclinic International is a multinational private hospital group, with operations in South Africa, Namibia, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates.
Despite stating that the information he could provide was limited, Jannie Durand, CEO of Remgro, stated at an investor day presentation on Tuesday that the Rupert-linked investment holding is seeking an equal partnership.
This suggests that Remgro plans to increase its stake in Mediclinic from 44.6 to 50 percent to solidify its ownership position in the multinational private hospital group.
This comes nearly a week after Mediclinic rejected an acquisition bid from a group led by Rupert’s Remgro and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, one of the world’s largest marine container terminal operators, as a joint venture partner to Remgro.
The £3.4-billion ($4.3 billion) offer for Mediclinic, which has sparked a battle for control of South Africa’s largest hospital operator, is said to have “seriously undervalued Mediclinic and its future prospects,” as the value offered is a penny-pinching nine-percent premium to the private hospital group’s closing price the day before the offer was made public on Wednesday last week.
The bid, which includes a dividend payout, is about 20-percent higher than the share price three weeks ago, but it is still less than half of what the shares were trading at just five years ago, as its operations, like those of other hospital providers, were severely harmed during the COVID-19 pandemic due to a decline in elective treatments.
Despite Mediclinic’s recent rejection, investors believe that Remgro will return with a higher offer for the company. Its shareholding is presently valued at R28.2-billion ($1.76 billion).
