Jiangsu Sanyou goes hostile on iKang

Jiangsu Sanyou Group Co Ltd, China's leading preventive health examination service provider, has formed a consortium to submit a non-binding $1.5 billion cash offer for local rival iKang Healthcare Group Inc.

The investment group plans to acquire all outstanding shares in iKang for $44 per share, or $22 per American depositary share, according to the proposal.

The price is 24 percent higher than the August bid of $17.8 per ADS for it, which was made by Zhang Ligang, iKang's founder and chairman. Shares in the Beijing-based, but Nasdaq-listed iKang closed at $16.77 last week in New York trading.