Malaysia's Khazanah in running for Turkish hospital owner
Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional is reportedly negotiating for a stake in Acibadem, the Turkish hospital group 92%-owned by Almond Holding AS. Almond is a joint venture between Abraaj Capital and Turkey’s Aydinlar family.
That deal is likely to be worth more than $500 million, sources told Reuters, and would be made through Integrated Healthcare, a Malaysian asset 70%-owned by the sovereign wealth fund.
Khazanah's interest comes days after Indian hospital operator Fortis Healthcare International reportedly ended talks to purchase Acibadem due to concerns regarding valuation and Middle East political stability. The parties entered negotiations last month, and the asset, which has a market value of $1.2 billion, is also said to have attracted interest from the likes of Blackstone Group, KKR, TPG Capital and Advent International.
This is the second time in a year that Khazanah and Fortis have been attracted to the same asset. Fortis, Asia Pacific's largest hospital management firm, last year lost out in the bidding for Singapore hospital asset Parkway Holdings to Khazanah. Fortis sold its 25.37% stake in Parkway - which it purchased from TPG Capital in March 2010 - to Khazanah as part of the deal.
Parkway is now 100% owned by Integrated Healthcare. Khazanah's other healthcare assets include Indian hospital manager Apollo, Malaysian medical university IMU, healthcare firm Pantai Holdings and pharmaceutical group Pharmaniaga.
Almond Holding, which is 46%-owned by Dubai-based Abraaj - the Middle East's biggest private equity player with $6.2 billion in assets under management - first invested in Acibadem in August 2007 through its Abraaj Buyout Fund II and its Infrastructure and Growth Capital Fund. The investments were intended to support the company's expansion in Turkey and establish its presence in the Middle East. At the time, Acibadem was the only healthcare operator trading on the Istanbul Stock Exchange.
Acibadem was founded in 1991 and provides secondary and tertiary private healthcare services, laboratory services, health and life insurance, hospital project management. It operates nine premium hospitals with more than 1,100 beds and is currently building three more hospitals.
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