Fortis ends bid for Turkish hospital owner Acibadem
Indian hospital operator Fortis Healthcare International has reportedly ended negotiations to purchase Acibadem, a Turkish hospital 92%-owned by Almond Holding AS. Almond is a joint venture between Abraaj Capital and Turkey’s Aydinlar family.
According to Reuters, Fortis backed out of the deal due to concerns regarding valuation and Middle East political stability. The parties entered negotiations last month, and the asset, which has a market value of $1.2 billion, is also said to have attracted interest from the likes of Blackstone Group, KKR, TPG Capital and Advent International.
Almond Holding is 46%-owned by Dubai-based Abraaj, which is the Middle East's biggest private equity player with $6.2 billion in assets under management. It first invested in Acibadem in August 2007 through its Abraaj Buyout Fund II and its Infrastructure and Growth Capital Fund. The investments were intended to support the company's expansion in Turkey and establish its presence in the Middle East. At the time, Acibadem was the only healthcare operator trading on the Istanbul Stock Exchange.
Acibadem was founded in 1991 and provides secondary and tertiary private healthcare services, laboratory services, health and life insurance, hospital project management. It operates nine premium hospitals with more than 1,100 beds and is currently building three more hospitals.
Fortis, meanwhile, is Asia Pacific's largest hospital management firm, owned by India's entrepreneurial Singh family. Acibadem has been one of its most notable M&A considerations since Fortis' unsuccessful bid for Singapore hospital asset Parkway Holdings one year ago. That deal saw Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional outbid Fortis with a $2.56 billion general offer to purchase all shares it did not own, valuing Parkway at $3.3 billion.
Fortis sold its 25.37% stake in Parkway - which it purchased from TPG Capital in March 2010 - to Khazanah as part of the deal.
Since then, Fortis aired plans to list its hospital land and building assets in Singapore through a real estate investment trust (REIT) in a bid to raise capital.
More on Healthcare
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.