KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 7): IHH Healthcare Bhd said that Agilus Diagnostic Ltd, a subsidiary of its 31.17%-owned associate Fortis Healthcare Ltd, will be undertaking an initial public offering (IPO).
According to IHH's Bursa Malaysia filing on Monday (Aug 7), the boards of both Fortis and Agilus had at their meetings held on Aug 4, 2023, considered and granted their approval for Agilus to initiate an IPO process via an offer of sale of equity shares to certain existing and eligible shareholders of Agilus in the IPO.
“The actual timing and implementation of the IPO will be subject to the determination of Fortis’ and Agilus’ respective boards, after considering the prevailing market conditions and other relevant factors at such price determined in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) regulations,” IHH added.
Agilus’ IPO is subject to the approval of the members of Fortis and other regulatory approvals, with IHH making further announcements as and when material developments occur.
In November 2018, IHH acquired a 31.17% equity interest in Fortis, an India-based healthcare operational provider — through a preferential allotment by Fortis to an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of IHH — Northern TK Venture Pte Ltd, in a US$584 million (RM2.66 billion) deal.
Meanwhile, last November, IHH said that it was in the midst of a discussion with the SEBI to determine the next steps to proceed with the mandatory open offer for an additional 26% stake in Fortis, adding that should IHH receive approval it would be ready to undertake the offer in a timely manner.
In a separate filing several days after, IHH announced that SEBI had advised that the open offer “should be proceeded with after obtaining an appropriate order in this regard from the Delhi High Court,” commenting that IHH was obtaining advice from legal counsel on the next steps.
At the afternoon break, shares of IHH slipped 0.67%, down four sen to RM5.97, valuing the healthcare group at RM52.58 billion.