Mitsubishi Corp buys strategic stake in Singapore’s Fullerton Health
The healthcare group says it has no specific figures to share on the deal
[SINGAPORE] Japan’s Mitsubishi has bought a minority stake in Singapore healthcare solutions provider Fullerton Health.
Fullerton Health did not disclose the stake size or price in a statement announcing the deal on Tuesday (Aug 26). Citing unnamed sources, a Bloomberg report said that Mitsubishi was looking at a 25 per cent interest.
Responding to queries on the deal from The Business Times, Fullerton Health said that it had no specific figures to share.
The move concludes a series of investments in the company, including a minority stake acquisition by Far East Drug in April 2024. At the time, Fullerton Health was valued at close to US$1 billion, according to Bloomberg.
The new investors are expected to propel Fullerton Health’s expansion in existing markets – particularly in Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines, where its presence is strongest – while pursuing entry into new ones across the region.
In its statement, Fullerton Health also noted that it will leverage its “robust footprint” as well as digital and artificial intelligence capabilities to roll out regional and local solutions on a fully integrated platform.
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Ho Kuen Loon, group chief executive and executive director of Fullerton Health, said: “We are well positioned to achieve our aim to positively impact 10 million lives in the coming years, with a shared commitment to impact and innovation. We will do this by scaling sustainably, strengthening our market leadership, and delivering greater value to all our stakeholders.”
Established in 2010, Fullerton Health operates across the Asia-Pacific region, with close to 500 clinics and a network of more than 18,000 providers.
The group had considered plans to sell a minority stake in the company as early as 2022. Bloomberg reported at the time that Fullerton Health aimed to raise funds to expand its medical services operations, citing unnamed sources.
This came on the back of Asia-based investment firm RRJ Capital’s buyout of Fullerton Health, which ruffled the feathers of indirect investors of SIN Capital – the former majority owner of the healthcare company.
BT reported in July 2022 that several of these investors had placed their funds into SIN Capital’s vehicles registered in the British Virgin Islands in 2015, as Fullerton Health was preparing for an initial public offering on the Singapore Exchange. They had hoped to have their investments converted into shares, but the listing did not go through.
Investors in 2021 also held out for a trade sale of up to 100 per cent of Fullerton Health to receive their share of the net proceeds, but this fell through as well.
SIN Capital was founded by one of Fullerton Health’s co-founders, David Sin, who exited the firm as a shareholder and relinquished his posts as group president and deputy chairman once the buyout deal was finalised.
A merger between Fullerton Health and Fullerton Healthcare was subsequently completed in August 2022, which involved an equity injection and senior loan of S$390 million. RRJ Capital is now the majority shareholder of Fullerton Health.
On Feb 8, 2024, Fullerton Health’s three co-founders were charged with corruption and falsifying or conspiring to falsify close to half a million dollars in entertainment claims.
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