Doctor Anywhere Founder and CEO Lim Wai Mun
Today, Singapore-headquartered healthtech company Doctor Anywhere (DA) announced the acquisition of Asian Healthcare Specialists (AHS). A Catalist-listed integrated healthcare provider, AHS is a group of 14 medical specialists with a patient-first approach and vision to make specialised care accessible to all.
The acquisition will allow DA to deliver more holistic healthcare and meet the rising demand for complex, specialised treatment across Southeast Asia.
“This will not only facilitate our cross-border strategy but also allow us to benefit from greater referrals from its network and complementary cross-functional uptake of its services,” says Doctor Anywhere Founder and CEO Lim Wai Mun.
e27 spoke to Wai Mun to learn more about the deal and healthtech industry trends in Southeast Asia.
Excerpts:
Is the acquisition of AHS a reverse takeover deal? How would this deal be mutually beneficial for you?
Doctor Anywhere’s acquisition of AHS is a pure take-private with no intention of a reverse takeover.
The acquisition is a strategic step towards our long-term growth ambitions as we seek synergistic growth opportunities.
This deal enables us to deliver a more holistic healthcare offering, allowing us to vertically integrate into secondary care to meet the rising demand for complex, specialised treatment across Southeast Asia.
Also Read: How telehealth startup Doctor Anywhere stepped up to the COVID-19 challenge
Given fast-rising healthcare challenges, including ageing populations and the rise in chronic diseases, Doctor Anywhere aims to expand its services along the healthcare continuum to provide more holistic healthcare in the region — from wellness, preventative, primary care to secondary (specialist) care.
Can you share more details about this deal? Is it an all-cash deal or a cash-and-stock deal?
The acquisition is a voluntary conditional cash offer for all the issued ordinary shares of AHS, with the deal valued at approximately S$109 (US$80.6) million, based on the offer price of S$0.188.
As part of the offer, the shareholder doctors of AHS also entered into a reinvestment agreement with Doctor Anywhere and have reinvested 35 per cent of the consideration they received from the offer to acquire new ordinary shares in the capital of DA. The offer has since been declared unconditional in all respects as of 10 November 2022 and closed on 15 December 2022.
What will happen to AHS post-acquisition? Will it retain its brand name? What will happen to its top management as well as employees?
Doctor Anywhere intends for AHS to continue its current business activities, and there are currently no plans to (i) introduce any significant changes to the business, (ii) re-deploy any of the fixed assets or (iii) discontinue the employment of any of the existing employees of other than in the ordinary course of business.
How do you plan to integrate DA solutions with AHS services?
AHS’ integration within Doctor Anywhere’s network allows us to deliver a more holistic, one-stop approach to healthcare.
This will not only facilitate DA’s cross-border strategy but also allow DA to benefit from greater referrals from its network (e.g. primary care/consults) and complementary cross-functional uptake of its services.
In how many markets do you operate in Southeast Asia? What are the expansion plans? Do you plan to add more headcounts and expand beyond the region?
Doctor Anywhere is present across six Southeast Asian countries — Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. We continue to explore opportunities to expand our business and healthcare offerings across Southeast Asia, which is our focus now.
Also Read: Doctor Anywhere acquires Thai startup Doctor Raksa to add 1M customers to the platform
We continuously look for talent across all areas of our business, including our tech, data science, product innovation roles and healthcare providers (doctors, nurses, pharmacists).
Last year, DA acquired Doctor Raksa in Thailand. How does this acquisition play out? You were looking to expand the medication delivery services to 38 provinces by the end of Q1 2022. Have you achieved this goal yet?
We’ve made good traction in Thailand, including achieving operational improvements and efficiency gains, expanding our suite of healthcare services, and seeing healthy user growth.
What are your exit plans? Is an IPO/SPAC on the agenda yet?
We intend to remain focused on growth and profitability in the near term and have no definitive exit plans.
How are the current macroeconomic headwinds affecting the healthcare industry as a whole?
The current macroeconomic headwinds, including the global shortage of skilled healthcare workers, continue to weigh heavily on the healthcare sector.
Yet, the emergence of COVID-19 and technological disruptions have led many to rely highly on digital tools and online platforms, increasing customer acquisition and personalised engagement opportunities.
What does the advent of Web3 and metaverse mean for the healthtech industry? Do you foresee the advancement of tech changing how we adopt telehealth services?
Technologies like Web3 and metaverse continue to excite and push the possibilities of industries and the world as we know it. As a collective, virtual shared space, such technologies have the potential to transform healthcare in areas such as clinical care and wellness, education and training, collaboration, monetisation, and patient engagement.
Against the backdrop of the healthcare challenges and the pressure of prevailing issues like chronic diseases, ageing populations, and the health workforce shortage, new technologies could breathe fresh life into healthcare services like telehealth and create a more engaging, holistic patient experience.”
Is the global health tech industry on a growth path post-pandemic? What are the regional and global trends in the industry? Where is the healthtech industry, especially the online consultation vertical, headed?
Healthcare and digitalisation are two sectors and trends growing strongly in general, and digital health is growing in tandem, if not stronger than traditional healthcare due to its scalability, with a continued growth trajectory post-pandemic.
Today, we see online healthcare being driven by three main themes:
- Rural demand for healthcare access
- Urban demand for efficiency and instant connectivity to doctors
- Cross-border need for appropriate medical specialist care
While there is greater acceptance and uptake of telemedicine by consumers today, there is an opportunity for digital health solutions to give the space a new shine through more transparency, reliability, and value effectiveness.
Far from losing its relevance, telemedicine remains a viable and increasingly important form of healthcare delivery (and access to care). Digital health has a good shot at tying up the region’s healthcare, giving scalable, instant access to personalised and value-for-quality healthcare.
We expect this to be sustained, and healthtech itself will need to constantly evolve to keep up with consumers’ needs and demands to provide a greater range of holistic services and offerings to support patients across every stage of health — from prevention to treatment, recovery, and wellness.
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