Business

Published: Wednesday July 25, 2012 MYT 2:27:00 PM

Abraaj Capital exits investment in IHH Healthcare


KUALA LUMPUR: Private equity manager Abraaj Capital exited its investment in IHH Healthcare Bhd (IHH) - which was listed in Malaysia and Singapore on Wednesday -- through an initial public offering (IPO) which raised about RM6.26bil.

Abraaj Capital said its original investment in Acibadem in 2007 and subsequent investment in IHH was via its Infrastructure and Growth Capital Fund and Abraaj Buyout Fund II.

In a statement, it said it had invested in the healthcare company as it believed rapid demographic changes across the region, coupled with rapidly rising incomes, would lead to increasing demand for quality healthcare which the public sector alone could not provide.

The IHH IPO was the third largest in the world this year after Facebook and Felda Global Ventures. "The offering received strong global institutional and retail demand. Over 400 global institutional accounts participated with the institutional books more than 130 times covered whilst the Singapore and Malaysia retail offers were each more than 11 times and 5.0 times covered respectively," it said.

The cornerstone investors included Blackrock, Capital Group, Newton Investment Management Limited, Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, Fullerton Fund Management Company (Temasek), The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), Employees Provident Fund Board, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) accounted for 62% of the share offering. Under the IHH IPO, Khazanah Nasional Bhd raked in RM4.9bil in the form of unrealised profit via the 62% stake in the healthcare provider, news reports said.

Khazanah managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar expressed said Abraaj Capital had played an important role in facilitating a highly successful IPO.

"We have enjoyed the partnership with Abraaj Capital and congratulate them for their contribution in growing Acibadem to be a world class healthcare business and now a significant part of IHH," he said. The founder and group chief executive of Abraaj Capital Arif Naqvi said the listing marked the successful conclusion of an outstanding partnership and a natural closure of the investment cycle of Abraaj Capital's US$2bil Infrastructure and Growth Capital Fund and US$500mil Abraaj Buyout Fund II.

"We are proud to have played a significant role in the success of Acibadem and IHH and to have participated in the development of one of the largest listed healthcare providers in the world. The success of this transaction makes clear that IHH remains extremely well-positioned in a fundamental and dynamic sector," he said. In 2012, Abraaj Capital was ranked the largest private equity firm in emerging markets globally by Private Equity International. Abraaj Capital Ltd, a member of the Abraaj Capital group, is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.

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