Published: 2010/07/27
Following its exit from Parkway, Fortis Healthcare will study the possibility of a secondary listing on the Singapore Exchange .
India's Fortis Healthcare Ltd (Fortis) will now pursue other regional and global growth opportunities, following its exit from Singapore's healthcare services provider Parkway Holdings Ltd.
It will also study the possibility of a secondary listing of Fortis on the Singapore Exchange.
The company, through its wholly-owned unit Fortis Global Healthcare (Mauritius) Ltd, decided to accept Integrated Healthcare Holdings Ltd's voluntary general offer of S$3.95 (RM9.24) per share yesterday.
Fortis has also withdrawn its voluntary general offer made earlier this month for Parkway shares it did not already own.
"Our decision to exit our investments took into account the interest of all stakeholders of Fortis.
"It was made after careful assessment in light of other growth opportunities available to us across the region and globally," Fortis and Parkway chairman Malvinder Mohan Singh said in a media statement yesterday.
He added that Fortis' vision for a global healthcare service provider which can cross leverage learnings across geographies, optimise cost and provide the best quality to the benefit of the patient remains unchanged.
"In fact our experience has made us a more astute healthcare player. We hope to re-invest the value unlocked from this experience to the advantage of our stakeholders, and to support our vision to become a global healthcare provider," Malvinder said.
Astute best describes Fortis, which first made its entry as a Parkway shareholder in March this year by purchasing a 23.9 per cent stake in Parkway for a reported price of S$959 million (RM2.24 billion) from US private equity fund, TPG Capital.
With the sale of its entire 24.9 per cent stake or some 284.2 million shares in Parkway to Integrated Healthcare, Fortis will pocket a profit of S$116.7 million (RM273.08 million) in merely five months of its initial investment.
The annualised return on investment of 35 per cent on Fortis' investment price is based on its original purchase stake of 23.9 per cent from TPG and subsequent market purchase.
Meanwhile, Reuters quoted Fortis chief financial officer Yogesh Sareen as saying that the company will be debt-free following the sale of its stake in Parkway.
Yogesh added that Fortis' current debt was 29.30 billion rupees, and its debt-to-equity ratio was 0.7.
Fortis has maintained its stance that it will be a long-term player in the healthcare business.
"Our limited association with (Parkway) and its functioning has given us a better insight into its strengths and we will continue to explore ways to work with the company and the medical talent to the benefit of the patients," Malvinder said in the statement.
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/jpark-2/Article/index_html
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