Khazanah plans US$1.5b healthcare IPO

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s state investor Khazanah Nasional Bhd is expected to list its healthcare assets here and in Singapore in the second half of the year, a deal that could fetch US$1.5 billion (RM4.59 billion), said two sources with direct knowledge of the deal.



The dual listing could be the fourth-biggest initial public offering (IPO) in the city state’s history and Malaysia’s second-largest this year after the planned listing of plantation group Felda Global Venture Holdings.

“It is coming out in the second half,” a source with knowledge of the deal said yesterday.

“Some preliminary discussions are being held with cornerstones and Khazanah’s representatives.”

The IPO will be one of the first after elections in Malaysia that
are widely expected to be held in June. Analysts and investment

bankers have said Malaysia’s IPO pipeline has slowed ahead of the poll because of concerns of market volatility.

A second source said the listing was set for June or July, with pre-marketing to start next month. Khazanah offi cials were not immediately available for comment.

The first source said Khazanah was still making acquisitions “to bulk up the IPO”.

Khazanah’s healthcare assets are currently parked under Integrated Healthcare Holdings (IHH), in which Japan’s Mitsui & Co Ltd owns a 30 per cent stake.

Aside from IHH’s recent purchase of Turkish hospital group Acibadem AS, the unit to be listed would have assets of Singapore’s Parkway Holdings, Malaysia-based Pantai Hospitals and
International Medical University.

Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank AG and CIMB are joint global coordinators and book runners for the deal. Reuters