Peter Lim restructures TMC Life

Singapore-listed Rowsley to buy healthcare assets worth RM6bil

PETALING JAYA: Singapore billionaire Peter Lim is injecting his stake in Bursa Malaysia-listed TMC Life Sciences Bhd into his Singaporelisted real estate firm Rowsley Ltd.

According to a filing with the Singapore Exchange, Rowsley has announced a plan to buy healthcare assets from its single largest shareholder Lim in a deal worth up to S$1.9bil (RM6bil).

The proposed acquisition will be an all-share deal for Lim’s private vehicle Sasteria Pte Ltd, the owner of Thomson Medical Pte Ltd and its 70.36% stake in TMC Life.

Thomson Medical is the owner of a 190-bed private hospital located at Thomson Road in Singapore which specialises in gynaecology and in vitro fertilisation, while TMC Life’s flagship hospital is the 200-bed Tropicana Medical Centre in Kota Damansara, Selangor.

Shares in Rowsley doubled following the announcement, while TMC’s share price moved south, closing 4.9% lower at 78.5 sen yesterday. On a year-to-date basis, TMC’s shares are down by 16.3%, bucking the trend of the local stock market benchmark FBM KLCI index which has risen 7%.

At this price, though, TMC’s shares are trading at a price earnings multiple of 66 times, while Rowsley is loss-making.

A sale and purchase agreement is expected to be completed within two months, the company said.

Lim owns a 45% stake in Rowsley, and the proposed acquisition will be financed through the issuance of new Rowsley shares at S$0.075 (RM0.23) per share to Lim.

Rowsley is also planning a bonus issue of free warrants for its existing shareholders after completing the deal.

Rowsley’s chairman, Ng Ser Miang, said the proposed acquisition is an opportunity for the company to acquire controlling stakes in two established healthcare assets in Singapore and Malaysia and be part of an expanding business.

“Healthcare is a big and growing market due to ageing demographics, longer lifespans, major trends to increase birth rates and growing affluence,” he said.

Ng said the proposed acquisition would “bring together” TMC Life’s proposed Thomson Iskandar project in Iskandar, Johor, with Rowsley’s investment in Vantage Bay Healthcare City in Johor.

Thomson Iskandar is an integrated development that will comprise a 500-bed general hospital, 400 medical suites and a retail mall.

TMC Life’s proposed Thomson Iskandar project is located next to Rowsley’s Vantage Bay Healthcare City project.

“We will be able to derive synergy from combining both projects under one company,” Ng said.

It was earlier reported that TMC Life is still waiting final approval from the Health Ministry for its hospital project in Johor.

The Johor royal family has a 7.67% stake in TMC and 11.7% in Rowsley.