BENGALURU (REUTERS) - Australian hospital operator Ramsay Health Care and Malaysia-based Sime Darby Holdings have received a buyout offer from IHH Healthcare Bhd for their Asia joint venture.

The proposal gives Ramsay Sime Darby an indicative enterprise value of 5.67 billion ringgit (S$1.83 billion) on a cash-free, debt-free basis, Ramsay Health Care said on Tuesday (March 22).

Sime Darby and Ramsay Health Care own 50 per cent each in healthcare firm Ramsay Sime Darby.

IHH Healthcare, Asia's largest private healthcare group, confirmed the conditional, non-binding proposal in a separate statement, saying the talks were in preliminary stages and that there was no certainty the deal would materialise.

IHH Healthcare is dual-listed in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Ramsay and Sime Darby have agreed to a period of exclusivity for four weeks to allow Malaysia's IHH to conduct due diligence and negotiate a sale and purchase agreement, Ramsay said.

Shares of Ramsay Health Care rose as much as 2.6 per cent, while the Singapore-listed shares of IHH Healthcare were up 1 per cent to $2.11 at 11.37am local time.