TPG Capital chooses banks for S$800m Asian pathology IPO in Singapore

Kuala Lumpur

TPG Capital Asia has picked banks to help prepare an initial public offering (IPO) of its pathology business in the region that could raise as much as S$800 million in Singapore, according to sources.

The private equity firm is working with Citigroup and CIMB Group Holdings on the planned first-time share sale of Pathology Asia Holdings, said the people. Credit Suisse Group and DBS Group Holdings are also working on the offering, they added, asking not to be named as the process is private. A listing in the city-state could take place as soon as the end of this year, according to the people.

Pathology Asia joins renewable energy firm Sunseap Group, Thai Beverage's brewery unit and City Developments Ltd's UK asset real estate investment trust in seeking an IPO in Singapore. The country has only seen one new listing this year, according to Bloomberg data. Aztech Global raised about US$224 million in an offering this month.

Deliberations are ongoing and the size and timing of the IPO could change, said the people.

TPG reached out to prospective advisers for proposals on the pathology unit IPO, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month.

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The buyout firm has grown the business from its initial 39 pathology laboratories, which TPG purchased from Healthscope in 2018 for A$279 million (S$286.4 million), a person familiar with the matter has said. It is now worth about US$2 billion.

TPG Capital Asia manages about US$9.9 billion in assets, according to its website. The arm of global buyout firm TPG has offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Mumbai and Singapore.

Pathology Asia Holdings, originally formed out of the Healthscope purchase, includes the Quest Laboratories brand in Singapore and Vietnam, and Gribbles Pathology in Malaysia. BLOOMBERG