(Bloomberg) -- Australia’s biggest private hospital operator Ramsay Health Care Ltd., and Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd. have shortlisted candidates for the sale of their hospital unit, which could fetch about $1.5 billion in a deal, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

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TPG Inc.-backed hospital group Columbia Asia Sdn. and Sunway Medical Centre, a unit of Kuala Lumpur-listed Sunway Bhd., were picked to proceed to the next round of bidding, said the people. Macquarie Asset Management and PT Mitra Keluarga Karyasehat are also among the shortlisted suitors, the people said, asking not to be identified as the process is private.

The sellers invited some health-care companies and private equity firms to submit non-binding bids for the unit by the end of August, Bloomberg News reported. The revival of the deal comes after discussions with Kuala Lumpur-listed IHH Healthcare Bhd. collapsed last year. The parties couldn’t reach a binding agreement for the sale of the hospital unit, according to a statement at the time.

Binding bids for Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care Sdn. are due in October, the people said. Deliberations are ongoing and there is no guarantee a deal will proceed, the people said.

Representatives for for Columbia Asia, Macquarie Asset Management, Mitra Keluarga, Ramsay Health and Sime Darby declined to comment. A representative for Sunway didn’t respond to requests for comment via emails and calls.

Founded in 2013, Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care was set up to hold Sime Darby and Ramsay Health’s combined portfolio of hospitals in Southeast Asia. The Australian and Malaysian owners hold equal stakes in the venture.



Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care owns four hospitals in Malaysia and three hospitals in Indonesia, according to the company’s website. It provides inpatient and outpatient services from primary care to surgery, as well as mental health care and rehabilitation.

--With assistance from Harry Brumpton and Fathiya Dahrul.

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