Remgro Limited, an investment holding led by South African billionaire Johann Rupert, and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), a marine container terminal operator, have started reviewing plans to launch a higher takeover bid for Mediclinic International Plc.
Mediclinic International is a private hospital group based in South Africa, Namibia, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates. The hospital group is the largest hospital operator in South Africa.
According to sources with knowledge of the planned takeover, the consortium, backed by Rupert’s investment vehicle Remgro Limited and MSC, is reviewing plans to up their offer for Mediclinic.
The news comes nearly four weeks after Mediclinic rejected an acquisition bid from Rupert’s Remgro and MSC as part of plans to take over the private hospital group through a joint venture arrangement.
The £3.4-billion ($4.3 billion) bid for Mediclinic, which sparked a battle for control of South Africa’s largest hospital operator, was said to have “seriously undervalued Mediclinic and its future prospects.” The bid, which includes a dividend payout, is less than half of what the shares were trading for just five years ago.
Remgro and MSC are presently negotiating with Mediclinic’s board and may request an extension to the bid deadline if they require more time to reach an agreement on terms.
Unless they are granted an extension, the consortium is expected to announce on Thurs., July 7, whether they have firm plans for a bid or will withdraw.
Investors were upbeat by the news of the takeover bid, which resulted in a surge in Mediclinic shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange this morning.
Mediclinic shares were trading at R93.46 ($5.565) per share as of press time on July 7, up 6.92 percent from their opening price on the local bourse this morning, giving the multinational private hospital group a R64.4 billion ($3.83 billion) valuation.
The market value of Remgro’s 45-percent stake in Mediclinic was R29 billion ($1.72 billion) at the time this report was written.
