Fortis Healthcare said it’s keeping all options open on investments as the company faces a bid by Khazanah Nasional Bhd. to gain control of Parkway Holdings, Asia’s largest hospital operator.

Fortis, which owns 25.4% of Parkway, said yesterday it plans to raise 27.5 billion rupees ($826.6 million) and its board also approved doubling its borrowing limit. Kuala Lumpur- based Khazanah on May 27 offered $1.18 billion to more than double its Parkway stake to 51.5%.

 

“The board of directors has reviewed the situation with regard to possible investments in the near future,” Ranjana Smetacek, a spokeswoman at New Delhi-based Fortis, said in an e- mail today. “All options to deal with potential investment opportunities have been kept open and are being evaluated in the best interest of all shareholders.”

 

Fortis may be raising funds to make a general offer for Parkway, UBS AG said. An offer would extend a challenge for control of the Singapore-based operator that started in March when the Indian company bought a 23.9% stake to become its largest shareholder. Parkway rose above Khazanah’s offer of $3.78 a share today for the first time since the Malaysian state investment company made its bid.

 

“We believe the arrival of Fortis as a shareholder and the offer from Khazanah shows that Parkway is a valuable franchise,” Jaj Singh, a UBS analyst in Singapore, said in a note to clients. “A controlling stake in our view should command a premium,” said the analyst, who has a price estimate of S$4 for the stock.

 

Parkway gained 1.9% to $3.84 as of 2 p.m. in Singapore trading. The stock has surged 27% since Khazanah’s offer was announced. Fortis declined 1.3% to 138.7 rupees in Mumbai trading.

 

Parkway operates 16 hospitals with more than 3,400 beds in China, India and Singapore, among other Asian countries, according to its website.

 

Fortis is India’s second-biggest hospital operator by market value after Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. Fortis would need a total of $3.18 billion for a general offer, Singh said.