“I think the transaction might be completed in July-August. The Marcu family (which founded MedLife in 1996) keeps the 51% stake,” said Marcu, adding the company has already entered the radar of several investors.
Value4Capital (V4C) previously operated under the name of SGAM – Societe Generale Asset Management and owns a 36.25% stake in MedLife, which it had bought in 2009 for EUR20 million. MedLife’s shareholding structure also includes International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group.
MedLife, Romania’s largest private medical services provider, has been operating on the local market since 1996. It currently has 13 clinics, 18 laboratories, seven hospitals, three maternity hospitals, 12 centers of excellence, eight PharmaLife Med drugstores and partnerships with 145 medical clinics across the country.
For 2015, MedLife expects a 16% organic growth, to EUR93 million, but set its target at EUR100 million, depending on new acquisitions. MedLife representatives also forecast an increase in operating profit, up to EUR17 million, which translates into a 31% growth compared to 2014.
Beside new acquisitions, MedLife is going to open at least six new units, of which three new business lines – stomatology, interventional cardiology and neurosurgery. In the second half of 2015, MedLife will complete other two projects, namely, the extension of its clinic in Timisoara and the inauguration of a new large clinic in Cluj.
MedLife also plans to extend the laboratory in Grivita, a joint investment with Abbott company.
MedLife officials said the local private medical services market saw a 7-8% growth rate in 2014 and is expected to grow 10-12% in 2015.