Clearbridge proposes new business unit to invest in and grow healthcare firms
PRECISION medicine firm Clearbridge Health is looking to enter the business of investing in and divesting healthcare companies.
It intends to seek shareholders' approval at an extraordinary general meeting to be convened.
The proposed new business will involve investments and injections of funds into entities in the global healthcare sector which are either Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) positive or "at an inflection point with a clear line of sight to profitability", Clearbridge said.
Such portfolio companies may include medical technology (medtech) companies and pharmaceutical companies.
In a filing on Friday (Oct 15) night, Clearbridge said the "carefully deliberated investments" may take the form of equity, debt, a hybrid of both, or otherwise.
The group plans to then grow and develop these portfolio companies with a view to eventually exiting from them, be it through mergers and acquisitions, listings on public stock exchanges, trade sales, or other forms of divestments, in order to achieve positive returns.
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"Portfolio companies that may have synergistic value may also be packaged together to achieve a collective divestment," it added.
To grow the portfolio companies' operations and business, Clearbridge intends to provide support including research and development, business development, market and commercialisation strategies, investment strategy, and financial planning.
The proposed business will form a new distinctive strategic business unit, separate from the current four reportable operating segments.
The existing core business segments comprise medical centres and clinics, healthcare systems such as renal care centres and clinical laboratories, and strategic medtech investments.
Currently, through its strategic medtech investments, the group gains access to new medical products and services.
Clearbridge said it remains committed to its existing business "as its continuity is in the best interest of the group".
This foray into a new investment business is meant to create additional revenue streams, allow Clearbridge to better participate in the growth prospects of the healthcare sector, and enhance shareholder value.
The potential new unit will also enable Clearbridge to invest in entities that may be outside the scope of the existing segments.
Moreover, the group will be able to invest in the development of healthcare products such as diagnostic tests for endemic diseases, vaccines, pandemic-swabbing booths and digital healthcare. Clearbridge recently started supplying the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine in Singapore.
The proposed new business is substantially different from the existing business, and thus the expansion is expected to change the group's existing risk profile, Clearbridge noted.
It will issue a circular to shareholders in due course, with further details on the proposed expansion.
The company's Catalist-listed shares advanced 1.7 per cent or S$0.002 to close at S$0.12 on Oct 15.
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