FEW CORPORATE BATTLES have been as unpredictable and as dramatic as the one currently playing out for Fortis Healthcare, the hospital chain once owned by the Singh brothers Malvinder and Shivinder. Ever since it became clear that the company would be opened up for bidding and the Singhs were no longer in charge, it’s been a series of endless twists and turns, a story which is a continuous work in progress. The cast of characters includes some of the biggest names in India and overseas—the Munjal-Burman combine, representing two of India’s best-known business families, Ranjan Pai of the Manipal Group with TPG Capital, IHH Healthcare of Malaysia, and the KKR-backed Radiant Life Care. Chinese giant Fosun has also been sniffing around. Much has happened at the time of going to press. After the erstwhile Fortis board declared the Munjal-Burman combine as the winners in an earlier round of bidding, the board itself was reconstituted after four members resigned or were voted out. It was then natural that the entire bidding process would have to start all over again. And that’s exactly what has happened. All bidders are now back to the starting line. Not surprisingly, the three which have been so far ahead in the race—the Munjal-Burman combine, Manipal-TPG, and IHH—have come up with various permutations and combinations which each of them feels is best suited to nursing the hospital chain back to health.Team Fortune India assiduously track the bidders’ every move and dive into the engrossing and nail-biting Fortis drama.. Even after this issue hits the stands, the story will be playing out and we at Fortune India will be bringing you the developments both in the magazine and on our digital platform. But for now, it’s the story so far. Moving away from Fortis, we discuss how business families are in the midst of fine-tuning their strategies to stay ahead of competition. There’s lots to read. So read on.