이 기사는 2019년 10월 11일 08:00 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

South Korea's private equity (PE) firm, STIC Investments has kicked off the sale of medical solutions provider UBcare, and released an investment teaser. Many strategic and financial investors are showing interests to the country's largest eletronic medical record (EMR) service provider.

According to investment banking sources on October 2, STIC Investments and lead managers, EY Han Young and Korea Development Bank (KDB) sent out teaser letters to potential buyers. The sale will be conducted through a limited competitive bidding process. The seller side is planning to choose long-list candidates this week amongst potential buyers who received teaser letters. The seller side then will send out investment memorandum (IM) to those who signed non-disclosure agreement (NDA). They are planning to decide a preferred bidder around late November.

One of the attractiveness of UBcare is a stable cash generation. Nationwide, UBcare provides 16 thousand hospitals and 7000 pharmacies with EMR system. An EMR are a digital version of the paper charts in the clinician's office.

A lot of hospitals and pharmacies are using EMR system due to its conveniency. UBcare's EMR system accounts for 49 percent of hospitals, largest in the country, and 33 percent of pharmacies. The company is able to generate stable cash from monthly fee. UBcare also distribute medical instruments and drug medicines to hospitals and pharmacies. Distribution business takes 43 percent of the company's sales.

Many say the EMR market won't be easy to grow exponentially in the future as the system is already widely used and the industry itself is mature. However, UBcare has expanded its business aggressively since 2016 and diversified its business portfolio so that it can increase its sales.

STIC Investments has pursued a bolt-on acquisition, which is the acquisition of companies usually in the same line of business that presents strategic value. In 2016, the PE firm acquired BBros, which owns healthcare platform Ddocdoc. Then it purchased Barocare, EMR service provider for long-term care centers in 2017 and acquired Brain Healthcare, EMR provider for long-term care centers and Korean Medicine Hospitals in 2018.

According to NH Investment & Securities, UBcare's EMR service has 54 percent of Korean Medicine Hospital market share, 49 percent of long-term care centers, and 49 percent of hospitals. Its EMR business still has room to grow, given the number of long-term care centers in the country has grown 7.9 percent annually. It is also possible for the company to develop new business using medical big data.

STIC Investments will sell its 33.94 percent stake in UBcare. In 2015, the PE firm acquired a 43.97 percent stake in UBcare from SK Chemicals for 79.7 billion won. Last year, Kakao Investments became the second largest shareholder of the EMR provider, which diluted STIC Investments' stake to current 34 percent.

(By reporter Kim Hye-ran)