Khazanah to buy Parkway stake for RM2.76bil

Friday May 28, 2010



By FINTAN NG

fintan@thestar.com.my



PETALING JAYA: Government-linked investment company Khazanah Nasional Bhd, through its wholly owned Integrated Healthcare Holdings Ltd, has proposed to acquire 313 million shares in healthcare services group Parkway Holdings Ltd for S$1.18bil (RM2.76bil) or S$3.78 per share.



The cash offer represents a 25.2% premium to Parkway’s closing price on May 26 of S$3.02 per share and a 60.9% premium over the company’s 12-month volume weighted average price of S$2.35 per share.



This move, if successful, would see Khazanah holding 51.5% stake in one of Asia’s leading healthcare providers with a network of 16 hospitals and more than 3,400 beds.



CIMB Bank Bhd and Deutsche Bank AG said in a joint announcement to the Singapore stock exchange yesterday on behalf of Integrated Healthcare that the company held a 23.8% stake while parties acting in concert held a further 0.3% stake in Parkway.



Integrated Healthcare director Ahmad Shahizam Mohd Shariff said in a press release the acquisition would consolidate Khazanah’s existing stakes in Parkway, Pantai Holdings Bhd, India’s Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd and IMU Health Sdn Bhd, which operates the International Medical University.



“We’ve great faith in Parkway’s talented and professional management team and continue to support its vision and growth strategy,” he said.



Besides the Parkway stake, Khazanah currently holds a 60% stake in Pantai Irama Ventures Sdn Bhd, a joint venture in which Parkway holds the remaining stake. Pantai Irama holds all the issued share capital of Pantai Holdings and 70% of Gleneagles Hospital (Kuala Lumpur Sdn Bhd).



The state-controlled investment company also holds a 12.2% stake in Apollo, which is listed in India and a 67.5% stake in IMU Health, which in turn wholly owns IMU Education Sdn Bhd, the operator of the university.



In Singapore, the Parkway group operates Gleneagles, Mount Elizabeth and Parkway East Hospitals.



CIMB and Deutsche said in the stock exchange announcement that in line with Khazanah’s core commercial objectives, the company “intends to further enhance its presence in the healthcare industry in the region” with the offer to acquire the Parkway shares a key step towards building a more integrated regional healthcare platform.



Bernama said Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd (AHEL) had indicated its willingness to join Khazanah in achieving greater penetration in the Asian region.



AHEL, the largest private hospital group in India, also indicated its support for Khazanah’s integrated healthcare strategy for a prominent role in it.



AHEL said Khazanah had been a keen and participative investor and partner of Apollo Hospitals for the last five years and enjoyed board representation.



It said as one of India’s leading healthcare providers, Apollo is also proud of its partnership with Apollo Gleneagles Kolkata, one of its Joint Commission International accredited facilities.


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