After rejecting three cash offers from Remgro and MSC in recent weeks, Mediclinic’s board says it will support the fourth.
Mediclinic received and rejected the first offer – for 463 pence (R89, at the time) – from the parties a month ago. Since then, Remgro and MSC submitted three further offers.
Two of these bids have been rejected. But on Wednesday, the parties made a new offer of 504 pence (R101) per share (minus Mediclinic’s final dividend for this current year).
The latest bid offers a premium of 35% to the Mediclinic share price before the first offer was made, Mediclinic’s independent board said in a statement.
“The independent board remains confident in Mediclinic’s strategic direction and long-term prospects as the group positions itself as an integrated healthcare partner, harnessing data, technology and innovation to facilitate growth across the continuum of care, supported by leading market positions. However, having weighed all relevant factors, including the current macro-economic conditions, the independent board is of the view that the near-term value realisation of the latest proposal provides Mediclinic’s shareholders an attractive alternative to the group continuing as an independent company,” it said in a statement.
The board said it would recommend shareholders accept the bid, if a final offer is made.
By lunchtime, Mediclinic’s share price was up 9% to R95.24.
It will now progress with talks and allow Remgro and MSC access to do due dilligence.
Remgro and MSC must make a firm offer for Mediclinic by 4 August. Remgro and MSC are equal partners in the consortium that wants to take control of Mediclinic. Remgro already owns 44.6% of Mediclinic. MSC is an international shipping group and a privately held company owned by the Italian Aponte family.
MSC’s head office is in Switzerland, where Mediclinic owns the largest private hospital group, Hirslanden. Remgro chairperson Johann Rupert also has a home in Switzerland, where his Richemont group is headquartered.
Mediclinic was founded in 1984 after the Rembrandt Group (now Remgro) commissioned Edwin Hertzog to investigate the launch of a private hospital group. It has been listed on the JSE since 1986.
Remgro already owns nearly 45% of Mediclinic, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. There’s no certainty the investor group will proceed with a takeover, and the negotiations could still fall apart at the last minute, the people said.
Representatives for the consortium and Mediclinic declined to comment.
Johann Rupert is South Africa’s richest person with a net worth of about $8.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Through a family trust, he controls Richemont, the Swiss luxury-goods company behind brands like Cartier, Montblanc and Vacheron Constantin.
Mediclinic is a diversified international private healthcare services group, established in South Africa in 1983, with divisions in Switzerland, Southern Africa (South Africa and Namibia) and the Middle East.-Fin24
