Share Trading Tips

The stock of Fortis Healthcare got a boost in the last fortnight after the company signed a definitive agreement through one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries to acquire a 23.9 per cent stake in Parkways Holdings from TPG Capital (formerly Texas Pacific Group) in an off market deal. Parkway Holdings is one of Asia’s largest healthcare service providers. The deal, the biggest overseas buy by an Indian company in the healthcare services space, comes at a time when the demand for healthcare services is rising in Asia. The Fortis stock gained nearly 7 per cent in the fortnight to touch a 52-week high of Rs 185 on March 12,2010. Fortis Healthcare Chairman Malvinder Singh will be the chairman of Parkway, with the power to appoint four directors on the board of the newly acquired company since his firm is the largest stakeholder. The partnership will look to enter new markets, with the next phase of growth going to be beyond Asia. The promoters holding in the company as per December 2009 stood at 76.47 per cent. Flis and DIls held 2.98 per cent and 2.22 per cent, respectively, while others have 18.33 per cent. Last month, the Fortis board approved a proposal to raise funds aggregating Rs 1,250 crore, from the domestic or international markets, to meet the funding requirements to address growth opportunities.