PE-backed China iKang Healthcare files for $150m US IPO
IKang Healthcare Group - the Chinese healthcare services provider whose backers include Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Private, Goldman Sachs and NewQuest Asia - is planning to raise up to $150 million in an initial public offering on NASDAQ.
Set up in 2004, Beijing-based iKang, provides medical examination services across a network of 42 medical centers. It primarily serves employees of its corporate customers but it also has individual clients. The company said it will use proceeds from the offering to finance potential acquisitions and build new medical centers in China.
According to a regulatory filing, GIC and Goldman Sachs hold 13.6% and 10.5% in the company, respectively, having jointly committed $100 million in April last year. NewQuest, which holds a 7.8% share, obtain its stake though its acquisition of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) Asia private equity portfolio in 2011.
BAML acquired its stake in iKang - then known as ShanghaiMed Healthcare - in 2007 when Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity joined a consortium of early stage investors in $22 million funding round. In total iKang has attracted around $125 million from its investors which have also previously included ePlanet Ventures, WI Harper, Walden International and Shanghai Ventures.
The Beijing-based company recorded a $173 million net revenue for the nine months ended in December, up 50% from a year earlier. Net profit was up 42% to $27 million during the period. No price range was disclosed in the filing. BAML and UBS AG are handling the share sale.
A number of Chinese companies are looking to list in the US again, after accounting scandals hit the valuations of many Chinese companies a few years ago. Online retailer JD.com, which has received $1.7 billion in venture capital and private equity funding in the last two years, is seeking to raise up to $1.5 billion through a US IPO.
Chinese companies raised $907 million through IPOs in the US last year, more than five times the 2012 total. These include VC and PE-backed players 58.com, Qunar, Sungy Mobile, 500.com and Autohome.
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