UK hospital operator Spire Healthcare Group PLC (LON:SPI) has turned down a takeover bid by Mediclinc International PLC (LON:MDC) because it “significantly undervalues” the company.
Mediclinic, which already owns a 29.9% stake in Spire, put forward a proposal to buy the rest of the company for 150p in cash and 0.232 new Mediclinic shares per Spire share.
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The proposal valued each Spire share at 298.6p, representing a premium of about 14% to last Friday's closing price.
“The board of Spire (excluding Danie Meintjes (Mediclinic chief executive officer), in conjunction with its financial and legal advisers, reviewed the proposal and unanimously rejected it on the basis that it significantly undervalues Spire and its prospects,” Spire said in a statement on Monday.
“Shareholders are strongly advised to take no action in relation to the proposal.”
The news confirms reports about a possible approach by Mediclinic, which first surfaced in the Sunday Times.
Mediclinic, a FTSE 100-listed private healthcare group based in South Africa, bought its current stake for about £430mln from private equity firm Cinven 2015. FTSE 250-listed Spire operates 39 hospitals, 10 clinics and two specalist cancer centres across the UK.