Quadria Capital and a group of co-investors have completed the acquisition and delisting of Malaysia’s Apex Healthcare Berhad, taking the pharmaceutical and healthcare group private in a deal implying a market capitalisation of about 1.9 billion ringgit ($470 million), the investors said.
Apex will be wholly owned by a consortium led by Quadria alongside 65 Equity Partners, the Employees Provident Fund and the Silk Road Fund, the statement said.
The implied valuation is based on an offer price of 2.64 ringgit per share, it added.
The buyers described the transaction as Malaysia’s largest healthcare take-private deal and the biggest healthcare take-private in Southeast Asia in the past five years, and also called it the region’s largest pharmaceutical transaction over the same period.
The acquisition was executed via Pharmora Investment Holdings Pte. Ltd., a vehicle funded by the consortium, with Quadria as the largest single investor, according to the statement.
Quadria said the investment is its first take-private and the fifth deal under Quadria Capital Fund III, which held its final close around seven months ago.
The firm said private ownership would allow a strategic reset focused on operational improvements, portfolio rationalisation and scaling beyond what is typically possible under public-market constraints.
“Apex sits at the centre of a fast-growing ~US$30 billion market,” said Ewan Davis, a partner and head of Southeast Asia at Quadria, pointing to policy support for local manufacturing and rising adoption of generic medicines.
65 Equity Partners said it expects to work with Apex’s management team and use Singapore as a hub for expansion, potentially including acquisitions.
Founded in 1962, Apex is one of Malaysia’s long-established pharmaceutical groups, with operations spanning manufacturing, sales and marketing, distribution and wholesaling, and a commercial presence in more than 20 countries, the statement said.
It has close to 1,000 employees and serves more than 16,000 end customers, supported by eight warehouses and depots across Malaysia and Singapore, and EU-GMP-certified manufacturing facilities.
The transaction adds to a steady pipeline of sponsor-led healthcare deals in Southeast Asia, where investors have been targeting defensive demand, ageing demographics and the opportunity to build regional platforms through operational upgrades and bolt-on acquisitions.
Business News Asia
