Metro pays $6m for 10% stake in Hyphens Pharma's digital health tech unit

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Property and retail company Metro Holdings has agreed to invest $6 million for a 10 per cent stake in Hyphens Pharma International's digital health tech unit DocMed Technology.

As part of the transaction, Hyphens Pharma will also conduct a restructuring exercise to transfer its shareholding in Pan-Malayan Pharmaceuticals to DocMed, making Pan-Malayan a wholly owned subsidiary of DocMed.

The restructuring is part of plans to consolidate all digital assets of the group under DocMed to develop an integrated digital health tech platform, Hyphens Pharma said in a bourse filing on Friday (May 27).

The transaction represents a Series A round of funding for DocMed, with Metro being the lead investor and gives DocMed a post-money valuation of $60 million based on the subscription price.

The investment will be used by DocMed to further its growth plans, which include developing an integrated health tech platform, incorporating various health tech solutions to cater to healthcare stakeholders in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as expand in the region, Hyphens Pharma said.

Hyphens Pharma expects the transaction to help unlock the value in its medical hypermart and digital business segment, which includes its wholesale business for pharmaceuticals and medical supplies in Singapore, its B2B e-commerce platform POM, as well as its e-pharmacy WellAway.

The business will be led by Mr Timothy Chen, who has been officially appointed as chief executive of both DocMed and Pan-Malayan.

Mr Lim See Wah, executive chairman and chief executive of Hyphens Pharma, said: "DocMed is focusing on capturing opportunities in healthcare digitalisation and developing new digital assets. We anticipate a bright future for this business."

Shares of Hyphens Pharma, a pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare company, closed flat at 29 cents on Friday.