This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on November 2, 2026 - November 8, 2026
1 Doc International Bhd’s planned initial public offering (IPO) on Bursa Malaysia has been scrapped after the beauty care centre operator failed to secure the valuation it was seeking, sources say.
In January, the Puchong-based company had filed for a listing on the Main Market to raise funds for an aggressive expansion.
“They’re not happy with the valuation. They were expecting more of a double-digit price-earnings ratio (PER), in the high teens,” one source tells The Edge.
The move to call off the IPO is not entirely surprising. The Edge reported in its July 20 issue, citing two sources familiar with the matter, that fund managers’ interest during the marketing process for the IPO was not as strong as anticipated, even at a relatively undemanding valuation of under 10 times earnings. “For some, it was a case of not being convinced about the outlook for the business,” one of the sources had said.
It remains unclear whether 1 Doc will revive its listing plans at a later date or consider alternative fundraising options. Its 37-year-old founder and CEO Dr Michael Ong Hong Keat was said to be keen on the IPO to raise the company’s profile and gain recognition as a listed company.
According to two other sources, private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is said to be interested in acquiring a stake in 1 Doc to help it scale regionally. But Ong tells The Edge: “We are not selling … [no] trade sale or anything.” He declined to comment on the status of the IPO.
RHB Investment Bank, the principal adviser and sole underwriter for the proposed IPO, and Maybank Investment Bank, the joint placement agent, also declined comment.
1 Doc provides a range of body, facial and hair care services, alongside beauty care and related products. It operates 53 centres across Malaysia and four in Singapore.
The company planned to open 18 new centres in Malaysia within 36 months from listing and seven in Singapore, according to its draft prospectus filed on Jan 14 and updated on May 22. The document is no longer available on the Securities Commission Malaysia’s website.
OneCredit data shows that 1 Doc reported a profit after tax of RM129.98 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2025 (FY2025), on the back of RM421.38 million in revenue. Profit before tax stood at about RM176.5 million.
According to its prospectus, the company made a net profit of RM97.05 million in FY2024 and RM89.67 million in FY2023, on revenue of RM346.96 million and RM302.41 million respectively. Most of its revenue was from Malaysia as 1 Doc only started its Singapore operation in August 2024.
The company’s gross profit margin dipped to 81.84% in FY2024, from 83.49% in FY2023. As at Nov 1 last year, its gearing stood at 0.36 times.
OneCredit listed Ong as the company’s biggest shareholder with a 60.5% stake. Other major shareholders include chief operating officer Joel Yap (20%) and chief learning officer Chin Boon Keat (15%).
There are not many Bursa-listed companies in a similar line of business as 1 Doc. Market observers note that the closest is probably DC Healthcare Holdings Bhd (KL:DCHCARE), which provides aesthetic services, general medical services and skincare products in Malaysia.
DC Healthcare made its ACE Market debut in July 2023, with an IPO price of 25 sen per share, raising RM49.81 million. At 25 sen a share, it was valued at a PER of 26.04 times, based on its profit after tax of RM9.56 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2022. The company closed its maiden trading day at 45 sen, up 80% from its IPO price. As at last Friday (Oct 30), the stock had reversed direction to close at 7.5 sen — down 70% from its IPO price — for a market value of RM74.7 million.
1 Doc’s proposed IPO comprised a public issue of 341.4 million new shares and an offer for sale of up to 238.98 million existing shares.
Under the offer-for-sale component, four shareholders — Ong, Yap, Chin and Teoh Hui Sim — were supposed to collectively receive more than 40% of the IPO’s gross proceeds.
Post-listing, the four, together with an investment holding company in which Ong is a substantial shareholder, were expected to hold a combined 74.5% of the enlarged equity interest in 1 Doc. Ong alone was expected to have a 44.7% stake.
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