Rowsley can raise value by divesting non-core assets

IF BILLIONAIRE Peter Lim had wanted to realise the fullest value for the Thomson Medical healthcare group, an initial public offering (IPO) would have been the cleanest way to structure a deal.

By choosing instead to inject these healthcare assets into Rowsley, the listed firm which he also controls, Mr Lim seems to be making an effort to reverse the fortunes of the loss-making company with interests in a mishmash of businesses including real estate, design consultancy and hotel management.

On Monday, Rowsley inked a deal to acquire the Thomson Medical's businesses from Mr Lim for S$1.6 billion, to be paid mostly in stock. An IPO was certainly something Thomson had considered. In September last year, Roy Quek, executive chairman of Thomson Medical and chief executive of TMC Life Sciences, told The Business Times that the group was gunning for an initial public offering. He told BT then: "If we were to do a listing now, we'd probably have a market capitalisation of S$2 billion to S$3 billion. I think we can do better. We're targeting S$5 billion for a start and trying to grow that."