Friday, April 22, 2016
Malaysia-based IHH Healthcare Berhad is to buy Bulgaria's Tokuda Hospital in a deal that will help to make it the biggest private healthcare provider in the Balkan country, the company said on Thursday.
The enlarged group plans to develop the medical tourism business by attracting patients from the former Soviet Union and the Middle East.
IHH's Turkish subsidiary Acibadem has agreed to acquire Tokuda from Japan's Tokushukai Medical Corporation for 65 million euros ($73.6 million). It is also paying around 11 million euros to its existing operating partners to raise its stake in Bulgaria's City Clinic to 76.5 percent.
"The total amount of the deal is about 250 million levs ($144.5 million), as it also includes some debt," Angel Angelov, one of Citi Clinic's shareholders, told Reuters.
After the acquisition, Acibadem will become the leading private healthcare operator in Bulgaria with four hospitals, totalling 750 beds and four medical centres.
"We will focus on the development of medical tourism as this business is still underdeveloped in Bulgaria. We will aim to attract customers from the former Soviet Union countries as well as the Middle East," he added.
The newly created holding company will have 2,300 employees.
The two transactions boost Acibadem's beds globally to more than 3,500 across 22 hospitals in three countries.
Source : reuters.com
