Fortis Healthcare to acquire Hong Kong’s Quality Healthcare for Rs882 crore

Indian healthcare provider and hospital chain Fortis Healthcare yesterday said that it plans to acquire the health-care businesses of Hong Kong-based Quality Healthcare Asia Ltd (QHA), for Rs882 crore ($193 million).

QHA, the first healthcare provider to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, is a physician4led provider group offering an integrated range of healthcare services including facilities management, third party plan administration and paramedical support.

With 2009 turnover of HK$1.1 billion, QHA has a network of more than 580 Western and Chinese medical centres, and 47 dental and physiotherapy centres. It also operates seven elderly care homes and Hong Kong's longest-established international nursing agency.

Under the terms of the transaction that was signed on 8 October, Fortis Global Healthcare, the overseas investment arm of Fortis Healthcare, will acquire five subsidiaries of QHA excluding its elderly healthcare businesses for HK $ 1.5 billion in cash.

Fortis Global Healthcare will also give HK$20 million in base working capital, QHA said in a statement.

The acquisition includes a network of 60 wholly-owned medical centres, 520 affiliated clinics, some 47 dental and physiotherapy centres, and a private-nursing agency with more than 3,000 nurses.

The acquisition comes after Fortis was knocked out in July 2010 from its proposed largest overseas acquisition after Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah launched a full takeover offer for Singapore's Parkway Holdings for S$3.5 billion ($2.53 billion). (See: Khazanah's S$3.3-bn bid for Parkway knocks out Fortis)

"Fortis Global Healthcare will be our vehicle of growth for international health-care businesses outside India, allowing Fortis Healthcare in India to continue to focus on the tremendous growth in the Indian hospital business," said Malvinder Mohan Singh, chairman of Fortis Global Healthcare.