CVC Capital Partners is considering buying a minority stake in Kuala Lumpur-listed KPJ Healthcare Bhd., according to people with knowledge of the matter.
(Bloomberg) — CVC Capital Partners is considering buying a minority stake in Kuala Lumpur-listed KPJ Healthcare Bhd., according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The private equity firm is in talks with Malaysian state-owned investment company Johor Corp. and the country’s pension fund Employees Provident Fund about acquiring the stake, which would make it the single biggest shareholder of the hospital operator, said the people. CVC has reached out to banks to arrange financing for the potential deal, the people said, asking not to be identified as the process is private.
Malaysian state-backed institutions currently own more than 65% of KPJ, including Johor Corp.’s 35% and EPF’s 13.2%, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Even after any deal, government-linked funds and companies would together control more shares in the company than CVC, the people said.
KPJ has a market value of 4.8 billion ringgit ($1.1 billion). Its shares have risen nearly 9% this year.
Discussions are ongoing and there is no guarantee that CVC will go ahead with the plan, said the people. Representatives for CVC and KPJ declined to comment, while representatives for EPF and Johor Corp. didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
CVC’s rival TPG Capital had earlier teamed up with Johor Corp. to explore taking the Malaysian hospital operator private before halting talks in October, Bloomberg News has reported. Negotiations broke down over concerns including valuation, people familiar with the matter have said.
Tracing its roots to 1981 with the opening of the first specialist private hospital in Malaysia’s southern state of Johor, KPJ owns more than 28 specialist hospitals in the country, according to its website. The health-care provider also has investments in hospitals in Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh as well as in a retirement resort in Australia.
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