Amala Foods
Plc
(the
"Company")
Transaction
Update
Amala Foods Plc (LON: DISH) is
pleased to update the market on the progress of the Reverse
Takeover process ("the Transaction"). The Company continues
to engage with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in respect of
the approval of its prospectus and all also progress other work
streams related to the Transaction and the development of the
target business.
The Company announced previously on
24 April 2024 that its target company is a newly formed healthcare
group, Healthcare Medical Plus Pte Ltd ("Healthcare Medical Plus"),
a holding company domiciled in Singapore (the "Transaction").
Healthcare Medical Plus now has three subsidiaries in the
Philippines as follows:
·
Dialysis Care Plus Inc (100% owned) - a company
that is building dialysis centres in the Philippines where the
market for dialysis services is growing every
year.
·
VidaHealth Inc (70% owned) - a diagnostic and
medical centre that is in the final stages of construction.
The group have an option to build a further 50 centres pursuant to
an existing joint venture arrangement.
·
TopHealth Medical Clinics Inc ("TopHealth") (40%
owned) - the group acquired a 40% interest in TopHealth, a
diagnostic and medical centre that has been successfully operating
since 2009 since our last announcement. Annual revenues
having been growing consistently. Audited financial
statements show revenue for 2023 was over £900,000. TopHealth is profitable and is
expanding its services and real estate to accommodate additional
growth. Healthcare Medical Plus Pte Ltd has agreed to
increase its stake to 50% prior to the completion of the
Transaction.
Healthcare Medical Plus has, to
date, been funded by its founders and associates.
The Philippines has previously
enacted legislation called The Universal Healthcare Act of
2019. This legislation resulted in the automatic enrolment of
citizens in the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation
(PhilHealth) that entitles all citizens to insurance coverage and
comprehensive outpatient services. The annual coverage of
dialysis services and diagnostics services has been increasing
under PhilHealth so that it now covers dialysis patients for up to
156 dialysis sessions per year. The Company believes that the
coverage provided by PhilHealth will underpin strong growth in the
Philippine healthcare sector over the coming years.
The biographies of key founders of
Healthcare Medical Plus are as follows:
Sean Rodriguez, Chief Executive Officer - Healthcare Medical
Plus
Sean was Vice President & Advisor
at Hartford HealthCare, a fully integrated health system, with over
225 locations across the state of Connecticut. Sean was Chief
Experience Officer and Executive Director at Barnes-Jewish Hospital
at Washington University in St Louis. Further, he has over 20 years
of experience in senior executive positions in healthcare in the
USA. Worked for 9 years as Healthcare Administrator, Outpatient
Specialty & Surgery Clinics at Vanderbilt University Medical
Centre. Corporate Advisor and an Officer at Medicare Plus.
Medicare is one of the premiere healthcare providers in the
Philippines.
Tobi
Solidum, Director
Tobi founded a global Government
Affairs and Strategic Business Development group with a focus on
USA and Philippines. Represented Fresenius Medicare Care of North
America, Liberty Dialysis, University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre
and the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii. Further, he was an
integral part of growing a dialysis company from 13 to over 200
centres which was later acquired for US$2.1 billion.
Responsible for working with the US Centres for Medicare and
Medicaid Services' approval of the current organ transplant program
for the State of Hawaii. Developed and managed the National Kidney
Foundation of Hawaii's state-wide COVID-19 testing program focused
on protecting residents and visitors during the outbreak of the
global pandemic.
Pliny Arenas - Dialysis Operations
Pliny is Vice President of Operations
at US Renal Care since 2016 and is responsible for overall
operations of Pacific Region with a census >2,000 patients in 15
In-Centre Clinics, 9 Home Therapy Programs, 1 International
Transient Program and 4 Acute Programs with gross revenue of
>US$100 million annually. From 2013 to 2016 he was
Regional Vice President of Operations for Diversified Services Inc
and was responsible for overall operations with 23 In-Centre
Clinics, 11 Home Therapy Programs and 2 Acute Services with a
census of >2000 patients. From 1998 to 2013 Pliny worked at
Fresenius Medical Care where he has held several
positions.
Daniel Obradó Calzado - TopHealth CEO
Daniel is currently serving as the
Chief Executive Officer of TopHealth in the
Philippines. Daniel has built a reputation for excellence in
business planning, digital transformation, and corporate finance.
His leadership is characterized by a strategic vision and a
hands-on approach to operations and financial management, having successfully managed and grown businesses
across multiple countries, including Spain, Vietnam, India, and the
Philippines.
Daniel's tenure at Keralty
(the previous
owner of TopHealth) began as
a Business Development Manager, where he was instrumental in
expanding the company's footprint in diverse markets. He then
progressed to Corporate Development, contributing to strategic
initiatives in Spain before assuming the role of Deputy CEO
and Chief Operations Officer in the Philippines.
His proven track record in these roles culminated in his
appointment as CEO.
Transaction Update
Although the Company continues to
progress the Transaction with the FCA it has taken longer than
anticipated to complete the financial workstreams particularly as
the scope of that work has been expanded to include TopHealth
business which has a more developed trading history. Whilst
the Directors are confident that the Transaction will complete in
late summer of 2024, it remains subject to regulatory approval
(including the FCA and the Takeover Panel) and therefore as is
normal with these types of transaction there can be no guarantee as
to whether or when the Transaction will complete. The
Directors will provide further updates to the market in due
course.
Also, the Company is currently
undergoing its 2024 annual audit for the period ending 31 March
2024 and understand that due to capacity issues this audit is
unlikely to be concluded prior to 31 July 2024 and therefore the
Company will not publish its annual financial report until August
2024. As this is later than is required by the Disclosure and
Transparency Rules this would ordinarily result in the suspension
of the Company's shares. However, as the Company's shares are
already suspended, and this suspension is not expected to be lifted
until the Transaction completes or is aborted.
The Directors would like to thank
its shareholders and its investors for their continued patience as
the Board continue to strive to achieve a successful outcome for
all shareholders and stakeholders. Consistent with the past
few years, the Directors continue to neither receive nor accrue any
remuneration.
Enquiries:
Jonathan Morley-Kirk, Non-Executive
Chairman
jmk@bluebirdmv.com