Fortis Healthcare has confirmed that it has received an “unsolicited non-binding indication of interest” from Manipal Health Enterprises for possible transaction with the company.
In a letter to the National Stock Exchange of India on Tuesday, the company stated that the proposal from Manipal Health Enterprises, which was received by the Board of Directors on March 23, 2018, was under evaluation. “The said proposal is still under evaluation by the management and no firm decision in this regard has been taken by the board,” the letter stated.
The letter was written to NSE by Fortis to give clarification on a news item appearing in a section of the the media on Tuesday which said that Manipal and Fortis boards may approve a merger this week.
The filing added that the board had already approved the enabling fund-raising options up to ₹5,000 crore, including but not limited to qualified institutional placement, foreign currency convertible bonds or any other method, and the proposal had been approved by the shareholders on September 26, 2017.