NMC Health PLC (LON:NMC) has applied for delisting from the London Stock Exchange in what must be one of the fastest ever falls from grace, with the private hospital operator having been a member of the FTSE 100 until last month.
The Abu Dhabi-based company’s shares have been suspended from trading since 27 February with the last price at 5p, down from 2,585p in mid-December when a report was released by short-seller Muddy Waters.
“Delisting shares in NMC Health is the logical next step, given the situation we have inherited,” said Richard Fleming, managing director of Alvarez & Marsal and joint administrator of NMC.
NMC’s hospitals, medical centres, care facilities and other operations continue to operate under existing management, with patients continuing to be treated, the company said in a statement.
In early April, the company announced that administrators were on their way despite talks to convince creditors to accept changes to its structure after finding debts were much higher levels than had previously been thought at US$6.6bn due to suspected fraud.
The board sacked chief executive Prasanth Manghat in February and chief financial officer Prasanth Shenoy later resigned after “potential discrepancies and inconsistencies” were unearthed in its bank statements, together with supply chain financing arrangements that had not been approved by the board, leading to further questions about governance after founder BR Shetty and a fellow major shareholder were encouraged to step down from the board.
As well as an ongoing inquiry by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority, one of NMC's largest creditors, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), has started criminal proceedings against some individuals linked to the group.
ADCB is owed around US$1bn by the company, with other creditors including Barclays and Standard Chartered respectively carrying exposure of US$146.6mln and US$157.8mln, according to court documents.