Fidelidade plans to float Luz Saúde on the stock market

The insurer Fidelidade, which is mostly held by the Chinese holding Fosun, is mulling floating Luz Saúde on the Lisbon stock market (Euronext Lisbon) through an IPO while retaining a majority share in the healthcare provider.

According to Reuters, the insurer is in contact with investment banks to manage the process for the Initial Public Offer (IPO) having recently received some offers.
And according to Jornal de Negócios, Fidelidade expects Luz Saúde to be valued in excess of €1Bn — considered a conservative estimate — with only a minority share floated.
The insurer has not yet taken a concrete decision, and is sill in the first phase of sounding out the market, but does not have a date set or a share of the capital it wants to sell by issuing equities.
If Luz Saúde does move forward with the IPO it will be the insurer’s return to the markets after quitting in 2018.
Sources in the market told the business daily that Fidelidade has been thinking about an IPO for quite a while, but didn’t press forward because the market conditions had not been favourable, but added that Fidelidade (preparatory) plans are already now at an advanced state.
In 2022 Luz Saúde, which manages around 30 private health units (hospitals and clinics), enjoyed operational results of €599 million, up 10.6% in 2021. The EBITDA increased 26.9%, to €82 million.
In September 2022 Fidelidade purchased the 49% of Luz Saúde that it did not hold from Fosun.