After losing the battle for Singapore-based hospital chain Parkway Holdings Ltd, Fortis Global Healthcare Holdings Pte Ltd continues to expand its global footprint. The Singh-brothers backed-Fortis has acquired 30% stake in Australia’s largest dental healthcare chain Dental Corporation Holdings Limited, for A$100 million (a little over Rs 450 crore).
Dental Corporation is the largest dental healthcare provider, offering premium dental practices across Australia and New Zealand with annualised revenue of over A$250 million (Rs 1,140 crore). The company, which started in 2007, will use this amount for expanding its existing network of 139 dental practices across Austraia and New Zealand.
“The Fortis investment will allow us to continue to expand in Australia and New Zealand and should present opportunities in Asia through the Fortis network,” Mark Evans, Executive Chairman and co-founder of Dental Corporation, said.
Fortis Global Healthcare, jointly owned by Malvinder Singh and his younger brother Shivinder Singh, will appoint two executives to the Dental Corporation board. All operational functions and management of the Dental Corporation business will remain unchanged. The final transaction structure is subject to Foreign Investment Review Board, Australia and Dental Corporation shareholder approval, a company statement said.
“We believe that there are tremendous opportunities for expansion in Dental Corporation, both in Australia, New Zealand and beyond, and we will support the management and professionals of Dental Corporation in realising such growth,” Malvinder Singh, Executive Chairman of Fortis Global Healthcare, said.
Their model of business partnership with principal dentists is a significant point of differentiation driving the rapid growth of the business and the most effective way to manage high performing professionals. We are delighted to have the opportunity to work together with a specialist healthcare team in furthering our growth beyond India and Asia, he said.
Dental Corporation was advised by Asia Principal Capital Limited and Minter Ellison and Fortis was advised by Religare Capital Markets, Deloitte and Allens Arthur Robinson.
Fortis Global Healthcare is focused on the creation of an international healthcare business and in October 2010 became the largest primary healthcare provider in Hong Kong after announcing its acquisition of Hong Kong-listed Quality Healthcare Asia Ltd (QHA) for about Rs 882 crore.
That acquisition helped Fortis Global to own a network of over 60 wholly-owned medical centres, over 500 affiliated clinics, over 40 dental and physiotherapy centres, and a private nursing agency with a database of over 3,000 nurses.
The QHA deal, the largest private integrated healthcare service platform in Hong Kong, came after Fortis’ failed attempt to acquire Singapore based Parkway Holdings.
Fortis acquired a 23.9% stake in Parkway Holdings Ltd from investment firm TPG Capital LP at S$3.56 per share which pulled them into a price war with Malaysian fund Khazanah. After a series of counter offers made by both companies, Fortis was forced to exit, but with $85 million in hand.
