The proposed related-party transaction involves its 99.9%-owned unit, Sunway Medical Centre, and three Sunway Group subsidiaries, namely Sunway Marketplace, Sunway Parkview and Sunway Iskandar.
Sunway Healthcare said in a bourse filing on Wednesday that the proposed acquisition aligns with the group’s strategy to grow its tertiary hospital network. It plans to build a 410-bed hospital on the site at an estimated cost of RM781.6 million.
“The proposed development expands SHH group’s footprint into the state of Johor, capturing unmet demand for tertiary healthcare in the southern region,” it said in the filing cited by The Star.
Located at the southern tip of Peninsular Malaysia, the Sunway City Iskandar Puteri township covers 2,000 acres (809.37 hectares) and sits just 5 km away from the Second Link, which connects Johor to Tuas Checkpoint in western Singapore.
The land purchase is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2027 and does not require shareholders’ approval. The deal will be financed through a combination of internal funds and bank borrowings, Bernama reported.
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Jeffrey Cheah, chairman and founder of Sunway Group. Photo from the company’s website |
Sunway Healthcare debuted on Bursa Malaysia earlier this year in what was the country’s largest initial public offering in nearly a decade.
The firm posted a 24% year-on-year increase in revenues to RM587 million for the first quarter of this year, though net profit fell 14% to RM33.3 million due to higher depreciation and finance costs related to its recent expansion, according to its press release.
It had 1,805 licensed beds and a total bed capacity of 1,982 as of the end of March.
Sunway Healthcare shares closed 1.54% lower at RM1.92 on Wednesday, giving it a market capitalization of RM22.1 billion, according to The Edge Malaysia.
The firm is a unit of Sunway Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Malaysia with interests spanning construction, real estate, healthcare, education and infrastructure.
Cheah is the group’s founder and chairman. Forbes ranked him as Malaysia’s eighth-richest billionaire in late April with a net worth of US$5.3 billion.