Q& M Dental Group has launched its inaugural offering of its multicurrency debt issuance programme at a price of 3.95% due 2028 for $130 million notes.

 

The series 001 notes were established on Dec 5, 2017, and are expected to be issued on July 10, 2025. The notes will be issued in registered form at an issue price of 100% of its principal amount and in denominations of $250,000.

 

The notes will bear interest at a fixed rate of 3.95% per annum, payable semi-annually on Jan 10 and July 10 in each year starting 2026.

 

Q& M Dental says that net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including financing acquisitions and/or investments (including investments in associated companies), business expansions, refinancing of borrowings and financing of working capital and capital expenditure requirements of the group and/or its subsidiaries.

 

Q& M says that certain directors and or controlling shareholders of the company, and persons related to them, have been allocated about 2.88% of the $130 million in aggregate principal amount of notes that are to be issued.

Between Jun 23 and 26, Q& M non-independent executive director and group chief executive officer Ng Chin Siau increased his total interest from 55.03 per cent to 55.78 per cent. The 7,041,300 shares were acquired by Quan Min Holdings at an average price of S$0.414 apiece. At the end of April, Dr Ng&rsquo s total interest stood at 53.02 per cent.

 

Back in April, he maintained that the company is expanding both the number of dentists and number of clinics. Dr Ng added that its courses in its Dental College are now recognised by the Committee for Private Education under SkillsFuture Singapore, with a one-year EduTrust certification, and it aims to achieve the four-year award to attract more foreign dental students. 

 

Dr Ng also reiterated that having grown rapidly during Covid, Q& M Dental aims to pursue mergers and acquisitions over the next two to three years. At the same time, the company is leveraging its advanced AI-driven information and treatment services to attract strategic partnerships.

Between Jun 10 and 11, Q & M non-independent executive director and group chief executive officer Ng Chin Siau increased his total interest from 54.25 to 54.92 per cent. The 6,427,900 shares were acquired by Quan Min Holdings at an average price of S$0.395 apiece. At the end of April, Dr Ng&rsquo s total interest had stood at 53.02 per cent.

 

The recent spate of acquisitions coincided with the group commencing a share buyback programme on May 8, under which 1,651,200 shares, or 0.17 per cent of the outstanding shares were repurchased. These were the first share buybacks undertaken since November 2021.

 

At the company&rsquo s FY2024 annual general meeting, Dr Ng announced that Q & M was committed to share buybacks of up to 50 million shares. He stressed the importance of performance share plans in the dental services provider&rsquo s drive to retain employees.

 

Between May 30 and June 3, Q & M Dental Group (Singapore) non-independent executive director and group chief executive officer Ng Chin Siau increased his total interest from 53.92 per cent to 54.23 per cent. The 2,812,300 shares were acquired by Quan Min Holdings at an average price of S$0.355 apiece. Since the end of April, Dr Ng has increased his total interest from 53.02 per cent. At the FY24 AGM in late April, Dr Ng shared that after strong organic growth during Covid, the company expects to pursue more mergers and acquisitions over the next two to three years, while the chief operating officer also noted rising interest from AI-driven firms seeking its information management and treatment services.