KUALA LUMPUR – Thomson Medical Group, which is backed by tycoon Peter Lim, is in advanced talks to buy a controlling stake in Vietnam’s FV Hospital, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Mr Lim’s firm beat out the other interested candidates to remain in the bidding, the people said, asking not to be identified as the process is private. Thomson Medical is working with a financial adviser on the potential acquisition, the people added.
In a Singapore Exchange filing on Thursday night, Thomson Medical said the company “is currently in preliminary confidential discussions to explore a potential transaction”, without identifying it.
The company said discussions were ongoing and no definitive agreement had yet been reached. It stressed “there is no certainty or assurance that any transaction will arise from these discussions.”
Shares of Thomson Medical jumped when trading opened on Friday after the news. The counter was up 0.6 cent or 10 per cent at 6.5 cents at 9.13am.
Bloomberg News reported in 2022 that Quadria Capital, a health care-focused private equity firm, was exploring a sale of its stake in FV Hospital, which could fetch around US$300 million (S$402.9 million) to US$400 million in a deal.
Other owners of FV Hospital, including its co-founder and chief executive Jean-Marcel Guillon, may tag along and sell part or all of their stakes, people familiar with the matter said at the time.
FV Hospital was founded by Mr Guillon and a group of French doctors in Ho Chi Minh City two decades ago, according to its website.
It operates a 220-bed hospital with 950 service staff and runs an outpatient clinic in the Vietnamese city.
The medical facilities also treat patients from the neighbouring countries of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
Quadria bought a stake in FV Hospital for an undisclosed sum in 2017, according to a press release at the time.
Other investors who participated in the investment include funds managed by Neuberger Berman Private Equity and DEG, the German development finance institution under KfW Group. BLOOMBERG
With additional information from The Straits Times
