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Published on November 24, 2007

BGH has made a takeover bid to buy additional Ram shares to boost its shareholding in Ram from the current 19 per cent to 26 per cent before the tender. The transaction will trigger a mandatory tender which, BGH expects, will add up to a shareholding in Ram of no less than 30 per cent.

BGH president Wallop Adhikomprapa told a press conference yesterday that his company wanted all the shares of Ram but some major shareholders still refused to sell.

What made BGH interested in Ram was its profit growth of 14 per cent per annum, much higher than the 7 per cent of BGH. If the hospitals can join their business, performance will improve significantly and operation costs fall.

Wallop believes the tender price of Bt480 is a proper one as Ram has low liquidity. He expects the tender will be complete in February. Ram's share price yesterday closed at Bt544.

Wallop said Bangkok Hospital's income would grow about 19 per cent this year, from Bt15.98 billion last year, and net profit would grow at 7 per cent, lower than the 8 per cent of last year due to higher electricity costs.

Wallop said BGH would invest Bt800 million in building a new hospital with 30 beds in the United Arab Emirates holding 30 per cent of shares. The company will extend the number of beds in its hospital in Cambodia in February.

BGH will also build a new hospital in southern China, where the population's income is quite high.

BGH has a network of 17 hospitals in 11 provinces in Thailand and one in Cambodia.

It plans to issue debentures worth Bt5 billion to Bt7 billion in February to refinance its debts.

Siriporn Chanjindamanee, The Nation