Bupa to Buy Quality Healthcare Medical Services

Fortis Healthcare (Gurgaon, India) has decided to sell its stake in Quality Healthcare Medical Services (QHMS; Hong Kong) to British medical services group BUPA (London, United Kingdom), as part of its efforts to reduce debt.

Established in 1868, QHMS is the largest provider of healthcare services to corporations in Hong Kong, with a network of 50 medical centers, more than 500 affiliated clinics, and more than 20 dental and physiotherapy centers. QHMS was bought by a vehicle owned by Fortis founders Malvinder Mohan Singh and his brother Shivinder in October 2010 for about USD 190 million; in 2011, Fortis acquired all the international operations of the family business. The recent acquisition will make BUPA the leading healthcare funder and provider (in terms of depth and breadth of service) in Hong Kong, with a strong platform for future growth in the region.

The divestment, which will add USD 355 million to Fortis Healthcare’s depleted coffers, follows a similar divestment of its Australian dental corporation to BUPA for AUD 270 million in May 2013, and the sale of its stake in Hoan My Medical (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) to Viva Holdings for a total consideration of USD 80 million. According to the company, the divestments are intended to help the company focus on its hospital and diagnostic business in India and further strengthen its balance sheet by improving its net debt to equity ratio and creating further room for growth.

“Quality HealthCare is a successful, well managed business that has a great future with BUPA. We both share a strong and common vision of providing high quality and affordable healthcare to people in Hong Kong,” said Stuart Fletcher, CEO of BUPA, said. “Together, we will be completely focused on delivering Bupa’s purpose of longer, healthier, happier lives to millions more people in Hong Kong.”

“Joining BUPA is an exciting step in Quality HealthCare's growth and evolution,” said Paul Li, CEO of of QHMS. “By combining our experience of delivering care to millions of people in Hong Kong with BUPA's international expertise in healthcare, we will continue to grow our business and provide access to high quality healthcare to our family of customers in Hong Kong.”

Fortis Healthcare is a leading integrated healthcare delivery provider in Asia, with interests panning diagnostics, primary care, day care specialty, and hospitals. The company has an asset base in 11 countries, including Australia, Canada, UAE, Hong Kong, India, Mauritius, Nepal, New Zealand, Singapore, and Sri Lanka.

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