Conglomerate Ayala Corp. said Tuesday its healthcare group is acquiring a 70-percent stake in Mercado General Hospital Inc., which owns and operates the hospital chain Qualimed Health Network for an undisclosed amount.
Ayala said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Healthway Philippines Inc., a wholly-owned unit of Ayala Healthcare Holdings Inc., signed agreements to purchase a 54.2-percent stake in MGHI from Ayala Land Inc. and the Mercado family.
Healthway will also subscribe to 38.25 million preferred shares in MGHI from Ayala Land and Mercado Group which will bring Healthway’s voting interest in the hospital chain to 70 percent.
The Qualimed Health Network includes four hospitals in Sta. Rosa Laguna, San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan, Iloilo City and Tanauan, Batangas.
Qualimed also operates an ambulatory surgical center in UP-Philippine General Hospital and has clinics in Makati, Quezon City and Cebu IT Park.
“We have always believed in Qualimed’s vision to deliver accessible and affordable healthcare to Filipinos. Over the past few years, we have built a strong partnership between Qualimed and Ayala Land, and we are delighted to integrate Qualimed into AC Health’s growing portfolio. The COVID-19 pandemic has renewed the Ayala Group’s commitment to invest in healthcare, and with this investment, we will be better positioned to provide much-needed healthcare services for the country,” said AC Health chairman Fernando Zobel de Ayala.
With the acquisition, AC Health will have four general hospitals, more than 85 outpatient clinics and about 80 corporate clinics. It also has the country’s first cancer specialty hospital which the company announced previously.
AC Health president Paolo Borromeo said the acquisition of Qualimed would complete the group’s hospital portfolio which includes patient care, from primary clinics, multi-specialty care and hospital care.
“We have taken a deliberate approach to building up our healthcare ecosystem, with the goal of delivering an integrated patient experience for more Filipinos. In addition to expanding our touchpoints, we are also excited about creating unique synergies in our network, such as patient referrals, expanded opportunities for our medical professionals, and greater operational efficiencies on pharmacy and diagnostics,” Borromeo said.
AC Health and QualiMed earlier said they would expand capacities to accommodate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in Laguna and Bulacan.
AC Health said it added more beds to the QualiMed Hospital-Sta. Rosa and the QualiMed HospitalSan Jose Del Monte.
The Laguna facility has 75 beds dedicated to COVID-19 patients, while the Bulacan facility has 30 beds for patients who caught the virus.