Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is looking acquire an additional 30-percent stake in its hospital unit from majority shareholders.
MPIC chairman Manuel Pangilinan said in a recent interview the company was looking to acquire a portion of the stake being sold by KKR & Co. and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC in Metro Pacific Health Corp. (MPH).
KKR & Co. and GIC, which own 80-percent interest in MPH, were reportedly looking to sell their shareholders in MPH. The transaction was estimated to reach $3 billion.
MPIC owns the remaining 20 percent in MPH, which has 27 hospitals in its portfolio.
Pangilinan said that while the final amount is still being finalized, MPIC would likely tap the debt market and use internally-generated funds to finance the acquisition.
KKR and GIC invested P35.3 billion in MPH in 2019. The planned sale also drew several foreign funds that are looking to invest in the healthcare market in Southeast Asia.
MPH president Augusto Palisoc Jr. said the company remains on the lookout for potential acquisition this year, after acquiring four hospitals in 2024.
“I’m hoping we can do the same this year,” Palisoc said.
MPH, the largest private hospital group in the Philippines, acquired Quezon City-based Diliman Doctors Hospital Inc., City of General Trias Doctors Medical Center Inc., San Francisco Doctors Hospital in Agusan del Sur and UHBI-Parañaque Doctors Hospital Inc. in 2024.
Some of the premier hospital names in the MPH portfolio include Makati Medical Center, Asian Hospital, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, Davao Doctors Hospital and Riverside Medical Center Bacolod.
The 27 hospitals enable 4,400 beds, 11,000 doctors and 16,000 healthcare staff to take good care of 4.2 million patients a year.