IHH shares up after Khazanah’s divestment announcement
PETALING JAYA: IHH Healthcare Bhd’s shares rose 25 sen or 4.76% to RM5.50 after Khazanah Nasional Bhd confirmed a StarBiz report that it would dilute its majority stake in the company.
In the early session, the hospital operator’s shares rose 54 sen to RM5.79 – a price level not seen since Aug 10.
Khazanah issued a statement early yesterday to state that it had entered into an agreement with Mitsui & Co Ltd to divest its 16% stake in IHH for RM6 per share.
The 16% stake consists of some 1.403 billion shares in IHH and is for a total cash consideration of RM8.42bil.
“The divestment will represent 16% of IHH shares and Khazanah’s shareholding in IHH will decrease to 26.05%.
“This is based on the enlarged share capital of IHH after the completion of the acquisition of 30% additional equity interest in Acibadem Saglik Yatirimlari Holding AS by IHH, which was announced earlier on Oct 8, 2018,” Khazanah said.
With a shareholding level of 26.05%, Khazanah would no longer be the single largest shareholder in IHH, as Mitsui’s stake is anticipated to rise to 34.03% after the share sale comes into effect in the Deutsche Bank Malaysia-brokered deal.
“The transaction clearly shows the confidence of Mitsui in the growth of the IHH platform.
“Khazanah remains committed to supporting the group and looks forward to the future success of IHH.
“The divestment is part of Khazanah’s strategy to grow the businesses that we are invested in and to find the appropriate times and value to create liquidity for our future capital and investment needs,” Khazanah managing direc- tor Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan said in a statement.
The statement said the transaction formed an important part of the restructuring of Khazanah’s portfolio, and the proceeds raised would be utilised for new investments and capital requirements.
Khazanah also said that it would continue to be a significant shareholder with representation on the board of IHH, and would provide stability to the shareholder base of IHH.
The transaction is expected to be completed by the first quarter of next year, Khazanah added.
IHH said: “We cannot comment on the actions of our shareholders. IHH is professionally run along commercial lines. Management’s focus remains on running a sustainable business that creates long-term value for our stakeholders and delivers superior clinical care for our patients.”