KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 6): Singapore billionaire Peter Lim and Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail Idris ibni Sultan Ibrahim are injecting their 70:30 interests in the Thomson Medical Hub project in Iskandar (Thomson Iskandar), Johor Bahru, into TMC Life Sciences Bhd for RM400 million.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, TMC said it will fund the purchase entirely, with the issuance of 533.33 million new shares at 75 sen each, together with 266.67 million free warrants to Thomson Iskandar’s owner Best Blend Sdn Bhd, which is 70:30 held by Lim and Tunku Ismail. Lim already controls 68.5% of TMC.

Best Blend owns 100% of BB Waterfront Sdn Bhd, which in turn is the holding company for the medical hub project.

“Based on the group's continuing growth strategy, TMC (fundamental: 2.5; valuation: 0.7) believes the proposed acquisition represents a strategic opportunity for the group to further expand its hospital operations beyond the Klang Valley into another bustling and fast growing city, Johor Bahru,” said TMC in a press release.

The 1.6ha Thomson Iskandar site will host a hospital named “Iskandariah Hospital”. The land is freehold and is located at the Stulang Laut area, which is within 1km radius of the Malaysian CIQ complex, situated at the Causeway. The project has been approved for hospital development for up to 272 beds.

Subject to regulatory approval, the Iskandariah Hospital is expected to have the capacity to eventually house 500 beds. Co-located with the hospital is an outpatient medical centre that will contain 400 clinic suites.

The medical hub will be managed by Thomson International, a subsidiary of Thomson Medical Pte Ltd — a private hospital owner and operator in Singapore, with more than 30 years’ track record.

Apart from that, TMC has also announced today that it is proposing to reward existing shareholders with a bonus issue of 599.76 million warrants, on the basis of one warrant for every two existing TMC shares held.

The bonus warrants will have an exercise price of 75 sen and an exercise period of four years.

TMC's share price closed at 64 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM767.69 million.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)