Ramsay Sime Darby picks banks for US$300m IPO

[KUALA LUMPUR] Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care has picked arrangers for an initial public offering in Malaysia that could raise about US$300 million, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Credit Suisse Group, Malayan Banking and Morgan Stanley have been chosen to work on the planned listing of the health care firm, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. The share sale in Kuala Lumpur could take place as soon as the second half of this year, the people said.

The mandates follow Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby's earlier discussions with potential advisers for spinoff plans of the health care unit that it jointly owns with Australia's largest private hospital operator Ramsay Health Care, Bloomberg News reported in October.

An offering could see the hospital operator joining glove makers Harps Holdings and Smart Glove. as well as property firm Iskandar Waterfront Holdings in seeking to list in Malaysia this year. Companies raised about US$487 million through first-time share sales in the Southeast Asian nation in 2020, up from US$458 million a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Ramsay Sime was set up in 2013 to hold Sime Darby and Ramsay Health's combined portfolio of hospitals in Southeast Asia. It operates six hospitals in Malaysia and Indonesia as well as a day surgery facility in Hong Kong, according to Sime Darby's annual report. The joint venture, which posted profit of US$9.6 million in the financial year 2020, also runs a nursing college in Malaysia.

Ramsay Sime could add more banks to the lineup later, the people said. Deliberations are ongoing and hence details of the offering including size and timeline could still change, they said.

BLOOMBERG