Singapore's TalkMed Group gets privatisation offer for $447 mln valuation

Bengaluru: Singapore's TalkMed Group has received a privatisation offer from TW Troy valuing it at S$606.1 million ($447.24 million), the oncology service provider said on Monday.

The offer comes as Southeast Asian healthcare assets gain favour with investors betting on the region's growing affluence and ageing population while eyeing the sector's potential to weather challenging economic conditions.

TW Troy, indirectly owned by oncology-focused group Tamarind Health, is offering TalkMed shareholders S$0.456 per share, or a premium of nearly 5% to Friday's close.

The combined entity may consider a listing on the Singapore Exchange, TalkMed said in a statement.

"The combined entity opens up opportunities for collaboration within a bigger oncology network," CEO Ang Peng Tiam said, adding that it stood to improve care for cancer patients.

The deal also includes an investment by Temasek-backed 65 Equity Partners, resulting in an 18.3% stake in Tamarind Health.

Shares of TalkMed climbed 5.8% to S$0.46 each on Monday, against a rise of 0.8% in the benchmark index. The shares have climbed about 25% year-to-date, LSEG data showed.

The value of healthcare deals in Southeast Asia jumped 43.3% this year to $6.54 billion from last year's $4.57 billion, outperforming the overall merger and acquisition deal value, which dropped 5.8% on the year, LSEG data shows. ($1=1.3552 Singapore dollars) (Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru and Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Clarence Fernandez)