Morgan Stanley arm buys Parkway shares

NEW DELHI: Financial services firm Morgan Stanley said its UK-based arm, FrontPoint Management LLP, bought 75,000 shares of Singapore’s Parkway Holdings at S$3.83 a share for a ‘discretionary investment client,’ in a filing to Singapore Stock Exchange.

Morgan Stanley is the independent advisor to the board of Singapore-based healthcare group Parkway for Malaysian fund Khazanah’s offer to buy a controlling stake in the company. Khazanah’s move could take away management control of Parkway from India’s Fortis Healthcare.

Parkway’s shares continue to trade above S$3.76, the price Khazanah has offered. It last traded at S$3.850 on the Singapore exchange, down half a percentage point.

Meanwhile, four directors on the board of Parkway and associate companies sold 85,000 shares in the open market at S$3.83-S$3.87 a piece.

Khazanah made its formal offer on Thursday asking minority shareholders to sell their shares and vote on its offer by July 8. Analysts now expect a counter-bid from Fortis, owned by brothers Malvinder and Shivinder Singh.

On Wednesday, Fortis said it plans to raise Rs 2,750 crore and increased its borrowing limit to Rs 6,000 crore. In Mumbai, Fortis Healthcare’s share price closed at Rs 151, up 7.97%.