Private clinic operator Rhoen-Klinikum AG (RHK.XE) said Monday
that German health-care company Fresenius SE (FRE.XE) has told the
company it won't launch a fresh bid to acquire Rhoen-Klinikum.
The decision is likely to lead to losses for hedge funds that
had speculated on a deal going through. Fresenius had intended to
make a second bid at an unchanged offer price of EUR22.50 per
share, valuing Rhoen-Klinikum at EUR3.1 billion, with a minimum
acceptance threshold of just over 50%.
Indications that a second bid was problematic emerged last week
when people familiar with the matter told Dow Jones Newswires that
Fresenius's supervisory board had raised concerns about the
complexity of the transaction.
On Friday, German private-hospital operator Asklepios filed an
application to the German antitrust authority to raise its stake in
Rhoen-Klinikum to nearly 10% or more, a move that poured cold water
on Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA's (FRE.XE) ambitions. Asklepios and
other minority shareholders have said they intended to torpedo a
Fresenius takeover, posing legal risks for Fresenius.
Asklepios has disclosed it has a stake of just over 5% in Rhoen.
Under Rhoen-Klinikum's bylaws, strategic decisions require the
backing of 90% of shareholders.
In late June, Fresenius made an offer for 90% of Rhoen-Klinikum
at EUR22.50 per share, but the offer failed. DAX-listed Fresenius
wanted to take over Rhoen-Klinikum and combine it with its hospital
unit, Helios, which would have created Germany's largest operator
of private hospitals with six billion euros ($7.52 billion) in
revenue.
Write to the Frankfurt Bureau at
djnews.frankfurt@dowjones.com
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