IHH Healthcare Bhd’s deal with Sime Darby Bhd and Ramsay Health Care Ltd to acquire Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care (RSDHC) for RM5.67 billion has fallen apart.
In March this year, IHH submitted a confidential, conditional, non-binding, indicative proposal to Australian multinational healthcare provider Ramsay Health Care and Malaysian trading conglomerate Sime Darby for the acquisition.
RSDHC is a 50:50 joint venture (JV) between Sime Darby and Ramsay Health Care.
The discussions were preliminary, and no agreement had yet been reached but on Sept 9, 2022 IHH announced to Bursa Malaysia that discussions had concluded without resulting in a binding agreement. No reasons were given.
In a separate filing to the stock exchange, Sime Darby also made a similar announcement, adding that it believes in the inherent value of its JV with Ramsay and the award-winning hospitals led by strong leadership with a commitment to high-quality healthcare.
IHH and Sime Darby are significant players in the healthcare industry, owning an array of private hospitals. IHH is controlled by the government’s investment arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd while Sime Darby’s controlling shareholder is national unit trust fund Permodalan Nasional Bhd.
Interestingly, the termination of the RSDHC deal comes in the wake of IHH’s recent announcement that it was selling its entire stake in IMU Health Sdn Bhd (IMUH) to Inbound Education Holdings Sdn Bhd (IEHSB) for RM1.24 billion. It is part of a deal to dispose of assets worth RM1.35 billion.
IHH is expected to gain RM901.98 million from the proposed asset disposal.
IHH had said the move aligned with the group’s strategy to divest non-core assets and recycle capital by deploying the proceeds to grow its core healthcare delivery services business. Among IHH’s leading brand names are Acibadem, Mount Elizabeth, Prince Court, Gleneagles, Fortis, Pantai and Parkway.
The move would see Hong Leong Healthcare Group Sdn Bhd, Singapore’s The Rise Fund Inbound SF Pte Ltd and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) taking significant stakes in IMUH through their vehicle IEHSB. IMUH holds IMU Education, IMC Education Sdn Bhd and IMU Healthcare Sdn Bhd.
IEHSB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Inbound Education Partners Sdn Bhd (IEPSB), which Hong Leong Healthcare owns (45 per cent), The Rise Fund Inbound SF Pte Ltd (45 per cent) and the EPF (9.99 per cent).
