Jardine's $2.4 bln radiology pivot scans well

Integral Diagnostics

26/05/2026 13:00

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions expressed are his own.
By Antony Currie

    MELBOURNE, May 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Lincoln Pan's first deal as Jardine Matheson JARD.SI CEO ably sets the tone for what to expect from the $21 billion conglomerate as it morphs into an investment firm. On Monday the Hong Kong-based, London- and Singapore-listed company revealed it has agreed to buy I-MED from Permira in a deal that values Australia's largest medical-imaging enterprise at A$3.4 billion ($2.4 billion).
It's a full price at 11.5 times the EBITDA that I-MED expects to generate during the 12 months to the end of June. It's roughly what smaller local rival Integral Diagnostics IDX.AX paid when it snapped up Capitol Health in 2024. But that target - and its acquirer - sported a roughly 20% EBITDA margin, compared to 17% at I-MED. And Integral could offset some of the roughly 30% premium it paid with cost cuts, which aren't available to Jardine as it doesn't own such a business already.
In fact, the price tag Permira was asking for had already put off some financial suitors, including Macquarie Asset Management and Bain Capital; they pulled out of the race to buy I-MED last year, the AFR reported. That's the world Pan left to take the reins at Jardine in December: he was a partner and co-head of private equity at PAG.
There's a crucial difference between his new and old employers, though. Private equity return targets are generally driven by the need to sell purchased assets within seven years or so. That's roughly how long I-MED has been in Permira's stable, with its headline value almost trebling under the UK buyout shop's stewardship.
Jardine, meanwhile, can be far more patient with its capital. And I-MED is a good business: its revenue grew at 10% a year, and EBITDA slightly faster, over the past five years. The company also has just used an acquisition to dip its toe into the U.S., so offers Jardine a bit of geographical diversification into rich developed markets.
That's a healthy choice for an investment company in the making. Granted, its Indonesian and Hong Kong assets will still dominate earnings. But as long as Pan can marry his private-equity nous with longer-term thinking, the I-MED deal will scan well.
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CONTEXT NEWS 
Jardine Matheson on May 25 said it has agreed to purchase Australia-based I-MED in a deal that values the medical imaging company's enterprise at A$3.4 billion ($2.44 billion).

    The London- and Singapore-listed, Hong Kong-based conglomerate is buying the firm from private equity firm Permira, which has owned it since 2018.
  

Jardine shares have surged since Lincoln Pan named CEO https://www.reuters.com/graphics/BRV-BRV/zdpxgzdabvx/chart.png
(Editing by Una Galani; Production by Aditya Srivastav)
((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on CURRIE/antony.currie@thomsonreuters.com))