The CEO of Fortis leaves before the transformation of the board of directors

New Delhi: With healthcare group IHH Healthcare Bhd ready to take control of Fortis Healthcare Ltd. Bhavdeep Singh, general manager of the troubled hospital operator, resigned Thursday, citing personal reasons.

Fortis's board is expected to meet next week to appoint IHH representatives, two people said. 19659003] The resignation of Singh paves the way for the IHH to present its own candidate for the management of Fortis Healthcare when the Malaysian group officially takes control.

Following the Indian antitrust regulator's approval on October 30, IHH will now acquire a majority stake in the Indian group. second largest hospital chain injecting about 4,000 crores of rupees. It will then propose to buy an additional 26% from public shareholders through an open offer.

"The preferential allocation of shares will be confirmed med at the next meeting," said one of the two aforementioned persons, requesting anonymity.

At the meeting, the board of directors will also decide on the liquidity needs of the company, particularly with regard to the distribution of salaries and payments to suppliers, the maintenance of equipment and the modernization of infrastructure. The IHH will have the right to appoint directors representing two-thirds of the board after the injection of funds into Fortis.

"They will have to expand the board by taking more members of the new promoters," said Shriram Subramanian, founder and managing director of the proxy company InGovern Research.

In July, the Fortis Board unanimously accepted the binding offer of IHH Healthcare, which put the brakes on the war on behalf of the beleaguered hospital operator. The Fortis Healthcare Board of Directors approved a binding investment proposal by IHH to invest 4,000 crore in preferential allocation for a 31.1% stake, a value of 8 880 crore for the company running out of cash.

to meet Fortis's immediate and long-term liquidity needs, including acquiring badets from the Singapore-based Religare Health Trust (RHT) and offering an exit for private equity investors in SRL Diagnostics , the diagnostic arm of Fortis. "The majority of the amount goes to RHT compared to the proposal to sell the entire RHT portfolio," said the second person under cover of anonymity.

Doctors working for Fortis Healthcare were notified of Singh's resignation during a conference call Thursday night. Singh said the difficulties the company had experienced in the last two years had not allowed him to spend time with his family. "I think the right time for me to make this transition is now. After two very difficult years, the company now has a stable platform and can look forward to the future with optimism, "he said in a statement.

" I am very pleased that business recovery is well under way and Q2 and October results reflect the best performance of the last 12 months. So, with the turbulence behind us, the market again raised and with IHH about to take over the reins of Fortis as the majority shareholder in the coming weeks, the time has come for me to make the transition. " , he said in a statement.

Fortis's board of directors accepted his resignation, the firm said in a statement on the stock exchange. "Singh will remain in his current position until the end of the year." what Fortis finds his successor. "

Singh is the third most senior leader to resign after IHH won the war.Financial director Gagandeep Singh Bedi resigned in August.The secretary of the company, Rahul Ranjan , resigned in October.

Ravi Rajagopal, President of Fortis Healthcare, said: "Bhavdeep has been a strong pillar for Fortis and has always led the way.He has always shown a keen sense of business, from one exceptionally strong work ethic and & # 39; a strong commitment to the & # 39; establishing and maintaining strong interpersonal relationships, based on a solid foundation of trust. However, his unwavering involvement and commitment to supporting society in recent years had not given him enough time with his family. The company is strong today thanks to the leadership that Bhavdeep has shown. "