Australia’s Ramsay Health Care sweetens offer for UK’s Spire to $1.4 billion By Reuters

(Reuters) – Australia’s Ramsay Health Care (ASX:RHC) has raised its offer to buy British peer Spire Healthcare (LON:SPI) to about 1.04 billion pounds ($1.44 billion), the companies said on Monday, after reports of some investor resistance to a previously agreed deal.

Ramsay said its latest offer of 250 pence per share for Spire would be its final, unless another party made a bid for the London-listed company.

The two hospital operators had agreed in May to a 240 pence per share proposal. The latest offer is a premium of about 30% to Spire’s share price the day before the first bid was made.

Spire said that it had spoken to its shareholders, and keeping in mind “views of certain shareholders about the price under the Initial Offer”, it had engaged with Ramsay and its advisers on the proposal.

In June, Sky News reported that Fidelity International was not happy with Ramsay’s first offer which it said “materially undervaluing” Spire. The investor is Spire’s second biggest shareholder with a 8.68% stake, Refinitiv Eikon data shows.

“The Board believes that the increased final offer is in the best interests of Spire shareholders,” Spire said in a statement, adding that its board was recommending the offer

($1 = 0.7222 pounds)