You wouldn’t expect to find the terms “overvalued acquisition” and “fatter wallet” in one title but this is exactly what appears to have happened for the India based Pharmaceutical company Fortis in the past few days. Making the financial front pages across the country today is news of Fortis’ exit of Singapore based Parkway Holdings Ltd in a deal that would have them net $85 million over what they shelled out to acquire their 23.9% stake just a few months ago this March.

The company which accepted their acquisition bid was overvalued when they paid $3.56 a share took their first opportunity to make an exit when a sovereign Malaysian wealth fund Khazanah made an offer for $3.95 a share. Fortis was looking for an entry into Singapore as part of their growth strategy in the Pan-Asian markets first made the Parkway acquisition in March. On realizing their acquisition was overvalued, they managed to quickly turnaround what could have been a bad move for them and turned it into a profitable one in just months. For Khazanah however, being a state fund and having a different strategy path, the deal was a good one putting both parties in better position for their future plans. A case of finding the right parties at the right time followed by quick action in the form of negotiations on the part of their respective advisors.

The Fortis exit serves as a useful case to highlight it’s ‘smart’ to seek out exit options when certain investments that seemed right earlier don’t always fit into the greater scheme of things. Through the support of advisory services, it’s possible to search out buyers who stand to gain from an asset the sellers wish to exit given it fits into their future plans. Through research and evaluation, if the advisors are able to narrow down on such buyers and put together a deal which makes sense for both sides, a seller can turn a so called “wrong move” into a profitable one or at least come out with just minor scratches rather than cling on to assets that could de-value the company’s shares consistently.

The important factor is to engage resources to start searching for options and exits as soon as one realizes that’s the best move. One businesses misfortune is often another businesses fortune but in a rare scenario like this one, both the buyer and the seller could end up coming on top!