Mediclinic calls quits on Spire takeover
Under London Stock Exchange (LSE) rules, Mediclinic had a 5pm deadline on Monday to either make a firm offer or state it did not intend to pursue the deal.
"Mediclinic is disappointed that it could not reach an agreement with the independent directors of Spire but will continue to take a disciplined approach to capital allocation to ensure investments are in the best interests of Mediclinic shareholders," Mediclinic said in Monday's statement.
Mediclinic has every intention of remaining a supportive shareholder of Spire."
On October 23, Mediclinic issued a statement confirming it had approached Spire with an offer of 0.232 Mediclinic shares and 1.50 cash per Spire share to buy the 70% of the UK hospital group it did not already own.
Mediclinic was responding to a statement that Spire issued that advised shareholders to reject the offer, saying independent directors viewed it as too low.
Mediclinic's share price in London on Friday was 5.61, valuing its offer at 2.80, only a small premium to Spire's share price of 2.73.
On the JSE, Mediclinic was down 1% at R103 on Monday morning.