By Ercan Ersoy
Asia Debt Management Capital of Hong Kong, PGGM NV and the World Bank’s International Finance Corp. agreed to invest $140 million for a 26 percent stake in Turkish hospital chain Universal Saglik Yatirimlari Holding AS.
Universal, which runs 18 hospitals in 12 cities, will use the proceeds to invest in more sites in Turkey, especially in smaller towns, Chairman Azmi Ofluoglu said in an e-mailed statement from the four companies. They didn’t say how much of a stake each of the buyers will acquire. Istanbul-based Daruma Corporate Finance advised the seller in the deal, they said.
Turkey’s economic growth is attracting investors in the country’s burgeoning health-care industry. The economy expanded 8.9 percent last year, the fastest pace since 2005, and may grow 4.6 percent this year, according to April 11 estimates from the Washington-based International Monetary Fund.
Abraaj Capital Ltd., the Middle East’s biggest private equity firm, bought 54 percent of hospital operator Acibadem Saglik Hizmetleri & Ticaret AS for about $606 million in 2007 and 2008. Carlyle Group, the world’s second-biggest private equity firm, bought 40 percent of hospital operator Medical Park Saglik Grubu AS for an undisclosed price in 2009. Argus Capital Partners and Qatar First Investment Bank last year purchased 40 percent of hospital chain Memorial Health Group.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ercan Ersoy in Istanbul at eersoy@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Benedikt Kammel at bkammel@bloomberg.net
via Turkey’s Universal Hospital Chain to Get $140 Million Investment – Bloomberg.
