Malaysia state-owned KPJ Healthcare valued at $1.3b

Two companies have bid to make the hospital group private.

US private equity firm, TPG Capital, and Malaysian state-owned investment company, Johor, will likely bid to make Malaysia's KPJ Healthcare private. The hospital group's value is at $1.3b (RM5.4b). The two companies will also likely set up a special purpose vehicle to offer KPJ shares between RM1.20 to RM1.25 each.

Johor holds almost 46% of KPJ shares, while the next largest shareholder is the Employees Provident Fund at 13%, followed by Kumpulan Wang Persaraan with 5.4%.

"As a major investment holdings institution with core businesses involved in the Malaysian economy, we are continuously reviewing and assessing our investments. This is to strengthen our investment portfolio. Given that we invest in listed entities on Bursa Malaysia, we are committed to exacting disclosure requirements. Should there be any pertinent announcements to be made, we will do so following these requirements," Johor stated in an interview with The Edge Markets Malaysia.

KPJ Healthcare operates 28 hospitals in Malaysia and has a small presence in Indonesia and Bangladesh. Its bed occupancy dropped to 48% by 31 December 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pre-pandemic, the bed occupancy levels averaged at 65%.