AIA poised to take over Philippine health giant

Bloomberg and workers reporter

AIA (1299) is in superior talks to amass MediCard Philippines, folks aware of the matter mentioned, because the insurance coverage large seeks to spice up its presence in Southeast Asia.

AIA and MediCard are finalizing the small print of a transaction and will attain an settlement within the coming weeks after the Hong Kong-based insurance coverage firm outbid different insurers and funding funds, the folks mentioned.

A deal may worth the Philippine firm at greater than US$350 million (HK$2.73 billion), the folks mentioned.

No remaining choice has been made and talks may nonetheless crumble, the folks mentioned. A consultant for AIA declined to remark, whereas a consultant for MediCard did not instantly reply to requests for remark.

The intently held healthcare firm has been working with a monetary adviser on the potential sale that would worth the enterprise at US$300 million to US$400 million, Bloomberg Information reported earlier this 12 months.

Whereas AIA posted a 15 % decline in new enterprise worth for the primary half of this 12 months as Covid lockdowns dented insurance coverage gross sales in mainland China, the profitability of latest insurance policies confirmed constructive progress in June. Its shares have dropped about 9 % this 12 months in Hong Kong, valuing the corporate at about US$108.5 billion. Within the Philippines, AIA offers life and normal insurance coverage companies.

MediCard is the one well being upkeep group within the Philippines that was based and managed by medical doctors, in response to its web site.

Since its inception in 1986, the corporate has grown from offering well being care to people and households to serving giant native and multinational firms. It has almost a million members and over 54,000 accredited medical doctors in additional than 1,000 hospitals and clinics throughout the nation.

Shares of AIA dipped by 0.5 % yesterday, versus a 1.8 % decline within the Grasp Seng Index.