PE-owned Qualitas Medical targets Singapore IPO

Qualitas is one of three remaining holdings in the private equity firm's second fund, which closed at $300 million in 2009. A consortium led by AlpInvest Partners recently made a secondary investment in the fund that includes a stapled commitment to the GP's fourth vehicle. That fund has a target of $500 million and was said in January to be on course for first close of $220 million.

The Qualitas prospectus gives no indication as to the size or pricing of the offering. Southern Capital – which invested approximately $34 million in the company in 2011, AVCJ Research's records show – owns a 77.74% stake in the business, while Partners Group has 6.48%. They both participated in a S$63 million ($47.8 million) pre-IPO investment in January, with Southern Capital alone putting in S$25 million. The previous listing effort was shelved in 2015 due to difficult market conditions.

Founded in 1997, the company has 279 facilities across Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and India that offer general primary healthcare services – such as episodic and chronic care, wellness screening, medical check-ups, and occupational health services – as well as dental care. It works with more than 4,000 corporate clients, providing services to employees covered by insurance programs.

Qualitas' largest footprint is in Malaysia, which has 204 primary care centers – of which 104 are affiliates or associates – five dental clinics and three medical imaging centers. In Singapore, there are nine primary care facilities, five dental clinics, and one dental laboratory, while Australia has 26 primary care centers, four dental clinics, and nine medical imaging centers. India has one general clinic, one dental hospital, and 14 dental clinics.

The company's overall network comprises 421 doctors and a total of 2.5 million patient visits were completed in 2016. The primary care facilities in Malaysia and the medical imaging centers in Australia between them account for more than half of revenue.

In 2016, revenue came to S$139.7 million, up from S$131.4 million the previous year. Over the same period, net profit increased from S$8.4 million to S$9.3 million.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Healthcare
• IPO
• Malaysia
• Southern Capital
• Partners Group
• Exit