Malaysia's Khazanah in Turkish insurance buyout, Abraaj exits
Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional has agreed to pay $252 million for a 90% stake in Turkish health insurer Acibadem Sigorta. The investment facilitates the exit of The Abraaj Group, which held a 50% stake in the business.
Mehmet Ali Aydinlar, the founder of parent company Acibadem Group, will sell 40% of his holding to Khazanah and retain the remaining 10%.
Abraaj's original investment came in 2007 as part of a broader partnership with Acibadem Group that also saw it acquire an interest in Acibadem Saglik, one of Turkey's largest private hospital chains. The PE firm divested its entire stake in Acibadem Saglik to Khazanah-controlled IHH Healthcare in 2012 in return for cash and shares in IHH, while retaining its 50% interest in Acibadem Sigorta.
Abraaj fully exited IHH via the company's $2 billion IPO on the Malaysian bourse last July. Aydinlar also used the IPO to sell shares in IHH received as part of the original transaction.
Khazanah created IHH as a holding vehicle for healthcare assets it had accumulated across Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, including Singapore's Parkway Holdings, India's Apollo Hospitals Enterprise and Malaysia-based Pantai Hospital.
The sovereign fund now appears to be following a similar strategy in insurance. Earlier this year it acquired the CIMB Aviva insurance businesses in Malaysia, placing them alongside other insurance assets - including Singapore-based reinsurer ACR Capital Holdings - in a dedicated holding company, Avicennia Capital.
"The acquisition of Acıbadem Sigorta by Avicennia Capital provides us with the opportunity to invest in a quality asset and allows us to tap into the attractive growth opportunities offered by the Turkish insurance market," said Tan Sri Dato' Azman Hj. Mokhtar, Khanzah's managing director, in a statement. "The transaction also broadens our presence in the insurance sector."
According to Abraaj, Acıbadem Sigorta is a leading provider of health insurance services for corporate and individual clients in Turkey, and has the second largest market share in the industry. It has seen 30% annual premium growth over the last two years to TRY234 million ($121.4 million) in 2012, while net income jumped from TRY1 million to TRY27.9 million over the same period.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch and CIMB advised Avicennia Capital and
Khazanah on the deal. Lazard and Raiffeisen advised Abraaj and the Aydınlar family, with Freshfields and Kinstellar providing legal counsel.
More on Financials
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.