Masterskill to list on Main Market

By Sharen Kaur
Published in NST on April 14 2010

Masterskill (M) Education Group Bhd, Southeast Asia's largest nursing and healthcare college operator, is finally listing on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia next month, after putting on hold twice its plans to sell shares.


According to a company source, the initial public offering (IPO) is expected to raise some RM800 million.

In its draft prospectus on the Securities Commission website, it is stated that the IPO will involve an offer for sale of 164 million existing shares and a public issue of 41 million new shares.

This means that Masterskill will only raise about RM164 million from the IPO, while the rest will go to the shareholders involved in the offer for sale.

The draft prospectus did not provide the IPO price as the group will ask for bids from institutional investors first before fixing the final price.

However, sources indicate that it could be around RM4 a share and the listing is slated for sometime next month.

Masterskill will be the country's first health science college to be listed on the local bourse.

"In February, the group was ranked first in Malaysia among all providers of nursing education in terms of student enrolment, with an estimated market share of 16 per cent," Masterskill said in its draft prospectus.

Masterskill had twice postponed the IPO: in the first quarter of 2008 and then in November the same year as market conditions were not suitable for the exercise.

It has hired CIMB Investment Bank Bhd and Goldman Sachs to help arrange the IPO.

Masterskill plans to use proceeds from the IPO to set up a nursing and medical campus in Johor in addition to nursing universities in Sabah, Sarawak and overseas.

Masterskill was set up as a company in 1997. It operated as a college in 2004 and as a university college in 2008.

Its revenue and net profit have been growing steadily since 2007 as more students enrol for its nursing and health programmes.

Last year, it had 17,165 students, up 27 per cent from the number in 2008.

In the fiscal year ended December 31 2009, Masterskill achieved net profit of RM97 million on revenue of RM273 million.

-ENDS-