Fullerton Healthcare said to delay IPO after regulatory queries

[SINGAPORE] Fullerton Healthcare Corp, the medical service provider that took orders for its Singapore initial public offering last week, is facing delays to the share sale after regulators received complaints, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Singapore regulators are asking Fullerton Healthcare more questions after receiving letters outlining concerns about its business, the people said. The company is engaging with the regulators and still hopes to complete the IPO, according to one of the people. It hasn't yet set a new timeline, the people said.

Fullerton Healthcare was planning to price the offering this week at S$1.52 a share, the bottom end of a marketed range, to raise S$213 million, the people said.

It was slated to finish taking orders from institutional investors on Oct 7, according to terms for the deal obtained by Bloomberg earlier. The company had targeted to open the offering to individual investors from Oct 10 to Oct 13 and begin trading Oct 17, the terms showed.

The public can submit comments on IPO prospectuses filed with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which will review the statements. Under the Singapore listing process, the MAS will normally register the prospectus, allow the offering to go ahead, within seven to 21 days of lodgement.

Fullerton Healthcare submitted its prospectus on Sept 28, according to the regulator's website.

"In assessing any company's suitability for listing, SGX considers a full range of factors including the company's business model, the structure of the business, and the character and integrity of members of its board and senior management," the exchange operator said in an e-mailed statement, adding it can't comment on the progress of any specific listing application.

A representative for Fullerton Healthcare declined to comment.

Fullerton Healthcare plans to use about half the share sale proceeds for acquisitions, while the rest will go toward expansion into China, according to a prospectus lodged with the Singapore regulator last month.

The company, which has more than 190 medical centres across five countries, plans to grow in China by partnering with Singapore sovereign fund GIC Pte Ltd and Citic Ltd, China's biggest conglomerate.

JPMorgan Chase & Co and UBS Group AG are joint global coordinators of the offering.

BLOOMBERG