On 10 August 2023, shareholders of Timberland Medical Centre (including 9 founding doctors) entered into a share purchase agreement with Pantai Holdings Sdn Bhd (an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of IHH Healthcare) for the latter’s acquisition of the entire equity interest to be fully satisfied in cash. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the first half of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals and satisfaction of conditions precedent in accordance with the agreement.
The planned completion of the acquisition coincides with the 30th anniversary of Timberland Medical Centre (TMC). Since TMC’s founding in 1994 and through many years of continuous improvement and upgrades of our service standards and facilities including the completion of the new wing in 2013, TMC is now a leading private medical centre with 82 beds, widely respected and trusted to be a hospital of choice known for its quality, innovation, and compassion. Strategically located in central Kuching, Sarawak, TMC serves hundreds of thousands of patients and their families each year, many coming from across East Malaysia and Borneo seeking quality treatments from our ~60 resident and visiting consultants. In planning for the next 30 years of TMC’s growth and development, TMC has earmarked a vacant land in central Kuching for the construction of a 200-bed new hospital with larger and more comprehensive facilities to meet the expected growth in medical tourism of Sarawak.
“My co-founders and I are pleased that IHH Healthcare has decided to acquire TMC and help scale its operations via the proposed 200-bed new hospital. Since its founding 30 years ago, TMC has steadfastly built itself into a trusted brand of quality and affordable healthcare throughout Sarawak, Borneo and beyond, and we look forward to seeing our next generation of highly skilled doctors continue serving even more patients with compassion and dedication in the new facility,’ said Dr Tiong Tung Hui, Co-founder, Director of the Board, and Member of Exco, Timberland Medical Centre.
“Over the past 30 years, TMC has grown consistently as a respected and independent private healthcare provider, now home to 60 residents and visiting consultants with diverse specialties and multiple centers of excellence meeting the needs of patients with high ethical and clinical standards. We see a timely opportunity to tap IHH Healthcare’s expertise to further expand into new sub-specialties and attract leading doctors, further reinforcing TMC’s leadership in Sarawak’s medical tourism market,” said Dr Denis Yu Hee Yong, Co-founder, Member of Exco, and Medical Director of Timberland Medical Centre.
“I am proud that over the years, TMC’s shareholders, board, management, doctors and staff all demonstrated a unity of purpose in stewarding an impact-oriented hospital, promoting healing and well-being to underserved communities while achieving sustainable financial and operational out-performance for the long term. Even throughout the challenging Covid-19 period, we continued to recruit good doctors, plan for the new facility, and strengthen our service offering to lay a solid foundation for the next three decades of growth. As we emerge from the pandemic in a position of strength, we welcome the acquisition by IHH Healthcare to further project and amplify TMC’s impact as a leading hospital to benefit all our stakeholders and patients in Sarawak and beyond,” said Mr Chik Wai Chiew, Chairman of the Board, Timberland Medical Centre.
