S'pore's Healthway may get new outside investors

Sat, Dec 11, 2010
Reuters

SINGAPORE - Healthway Medical Corp, which runs medical and dental clinics in Singapore and China, is speaking to potential investors who have expressed an interest in taking a stake, a company executive said.

"Healthcare in Singapore has become a very attractive sector for investors and Healthway has had its share of interest," Adrian Leong, group medical director and managing director of medical services, told Reuters in an interview.

"Some of this is in the midst of being discussed," he said. He declined to elaborate as the talks were confidential.


Interest in Singapore's healthcare sector has soared since Malaysian state investor Khazanah took over hospital operator Parkway in a US$2.6 billion (S$3.4 billion) deal earlier this year, beating a rival bid by India's Fortis Healthcare.

Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim is currently in the process of taking over Thomson Medical Centre for S$513 million (US$396 million).

Healthway has a market capitalisation of around US$205 million. The firm recently obtained shareholder approval to enter into transactions with interested parties, and it has hired a veteran healthcare executive with pan-Asian experience, Lam Pin Woon, as president and executive director.

Healthway Medical Corp

On June 2010, Lim Eng Hock,better known as Peter Lim, became a substantial shareholder in Healthway Medical Corp after he bought 14.6 million shares in the company on the open market via Kestrel Capital Partners, raising his deemed stake to 5.75% from 4.96%. A day later, he bought 5.1 million shares in the company, raising his deemed stake to 6.03%.

Healthway Medical is a private provider of primary healthcare, dental and specialist services. Formerly a stockbroker and now a full-time investor, Lim was ranked Singapore’s seventh-richest man last year by Forbes, with a net worth of US$1.5 billion ($2.1 billion).

For 1Q2010 ended March 31, Healthway Medical says net earnings fell 63.9% to $1.4 million, on the back of a 6.3% drop in revenue to $22.2 million.