In a bourse filing today, IHH said the withdrawal was due to “commercial considerations” and in consultation and mutual agreement with Agilus’s private equity investors and selling shareholders, namely International Finance Corp, NYLIM Jacob Ballas India Fund III LLC, and Resurgence PE Investments Ltd.

However, neither IHH or Agilus disclosed what these commercial considerations were that prompted it to abort the IPO.

IHH had announced last August that Agilus, a subsidiary of its 31.17%-owned associate Fortis Healthcare Ltd, will initiate an IPO to list on Sebi at a future date to be determined.

The respective board of directors of Fortis and Agilus approved yesterday Agilus’ proposal to withdraw the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) dated Sept 29, 2023 that was filed earlier with Sebi and the Indian stock exchanges.

However, Agilus said it may re-file with Sebi again for a proposed IPO in future.

Agilus operates a network of 413 testing laboratories out of which 43 were accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), the largest network of NABL accredited laboratories in India, as of March 31, 2023.

IHH had acquired the 31.17% equity interest in Fortis, an India-based healthcare provider, in November 2018 for US$584 million (RM2.79 billion) via its indirect wholly owned subsidiary Northern TK Venture Pte Ltd.

Last November, IHH said it was discussing with Sebi to determine the next steps to proceed with the mandatory open offer for an additional 26% stake in Fortis.

IHH’s shares ended 7 sen or 1.13% lower at RM6.14 today, valuing the group at RM54.1 billion.