KUALA LUMPUR: Sime Darby Bhd, one of Malaysia’s oldest conglomerates, is weighing a separate listing for its healthcare unit that could raise at least RM500 million, according to the people familiar with the matter.
The company has held discussions with potential advisers for an initial public offering of Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care Sdn Bhd, they said.
A listing on Bursa Malaysia could happen as early as 2021, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.
Sime Darby jointly owns the healthcare unit with Australia’s largest private hospital operator, Ramsay Health Care Ltd.
Deliberations are at an early stage and details of the offering including size and timeline could still change, the people said.
A representative for Sime Darby declined to comment, adding that it will make announcements when necessary. A representative for Ramsay Health Care said they have no comment.
Spinning off businesses is not new to Sime Darby. The conglomerate listed its plantation and property arms in 2017.
Sime Darby has climbed about 8.7% in Kuala Lumpur this year, giving it a market value of about RM16.58 billion.
Sime Darby was looking to spend RM1 billion each year on acquisitions and organic growth with a focus to expand its business of selling luxury cars as well as healthcare services, its CEO, Jeffri Salim Davidson, said last November.
Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care was founded in 2013 when Sime Darby and Ramsay Health combined several hospitals in Southeast Asia. It runs six premium hospitals in Malaysia and Indonesia as well as a day surgery facility in Hong Kong, according to Sime Darby’s annual report.
Net income of Sime Darby’s healthcare business fell about 20% to RM39 million in its fiscal year ended June 30, from RM49 million a year ago, due to a drop in patient volume because of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as one-off impairments. - FMT
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