Religare Health to raise $416 million in Singapore IPO: Sources

Religare Health Trust will raise S$511 million after pricing its initial public share offer in Singapore at S$0.90 a share, at the lower end of its indicative range, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

The final pricing would indicate a prospective distribution yield of 8.95 percent, said one of the sources. The sources declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

According to a prospectus last month, Religare was planning to price its IPO at an indicative price range of S$0.88 to S$0.97 and sell up to 567.5 million shares.

"Its high dividend yield will catch the attention of some investors and dividend plays are quite popular now, as seen by the rise in REITS," said Ng Kian Teck, lead analyst at SIAS Research.

Religare will own hospital-related assets managed by Indian hospital group Fortis. The offering is the latest in a string of trust listings in Singapore that have attracted demand from investors seeking high dividend yields in an environment of volatile markets and low interest rates.

Far East Hospitality Trust's S$717.6 million IPO in August was the largest IPO in Singapore this year.

Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts have surged 32.1 percent so far this year, outperforming the benchmark Straits Times Index's 14.6 percent rise.

"Religare will be a growth and dividend play, given that they're looking to expand in India itself. Their dividend payout will be quite high but the question is whether this is sustainable," said Ng.

Religare has a mandate to invest in medical and healthcare assets and services in Asia, Australasia and emerging markets. After the listing, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fortis will hold 28 percent stake in the listed entity.

CIMB, DBS, Nomura Holdings, Religare Capital Markets and Standard Chartered are joint bookrunners for the IPO with Citigroup as joint lead manager.


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