Econ Healthcare public offer 86.9 times subscribed

ECON Healthcare (Asia) received applications from investors for 86.9 times the number of shares available in the public portion of its initial public offering (IPO), it said on Friday.

With 1.8 million shares available to the public for subscription, it received 3,371 valid applications for around 156.5 million shares, with application monies received amounting to some S$43.8 million.

In addition, the company - which is the largest private nursing home operator in Singapore and Malaysia - said that all 48.2 million shares available by way of placement were validly subscribed for. Application monies received for the placement shares amounted to approximately S$13.5 million.

Overall, the IPO of 50 million shares at $0.28 apiece was 4.1 times subscribed. The listing and trading of shares in Econ Healthcare on the Catalist Board of the Singapore Exchange is expected to commence at 9am on Monday.

"We are highly encouraged by the response we have garnered for our IPO, which is indicative of the investing public's recognition of Econ Healthcare's growth potential," said Ong Chu Poh, founder and group chief executive officer of Econ Healthcare.

"I am confident that we are in a good position to capture the growth opportunities that exist with the growing ageing population in Singapore, Malaysia and China," he added.

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Based on the offer price and the post-offer share capital of 257 million shares, Econ Healthcare's market capitalisation upon listing will be around S$72 million.

Econ Healthcare intends to use the net proceeds of around S$11.5 million for its expansion plans in Singapore and overseas. This includes joint ventures, strategic collaborations, mergers and acquisitions, or investments.

It added that it also plans to upgrade existing facilities and use the proceeds for general corporate and working capital purposes.

DBS Bank is the sponsor, issue manager, underwriter and placement agent for the offering.