MPIC unit invests P250 million in Los Baños hospital operator
By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter
METRO PACIFIC Hospital Holdings, Inc. (MPHHI) is investing P250 million in a hospital operator in Los Baños, Laguna as part of boosting its hospital network.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange yesterday, its parent Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) said MPHHI is acquiring a 51% stake in Los Baños Doctors Hospital and Medical Center, Inc. (LBDH).
It is subscribing to 235,404 shares equivalent to 51% of the hospital’s equity interest, where the total price per share is less than 10% of its book value.
LBDH is a Level 2 hospital with an 80-bed capacity in Los Baños, Laguna. It caters to patients not only from Los Baños but also Calamba City and the Municipality of Bay.
In its website, LBDH said it offers services such as radiology, laboratory, surgery, hemodialysis, rehabilitation and respiratory therapy and employs more than 100 doctors. It also recently finished an eight-storey building that has 26 rooms and 44 doctors’ clinics.
“We appreciate and thank the founders of LBDH for inviting and allowing us to invest in their fine hospital. We are likewise excited to work with them…,” MPHHI President and Chief Executive Officer Augusto P. Palisoc, Jr. was quoted as saying in the disclosure.
An initial payment will be given to LBDH upon completion of the transaction, and the rest will be paid upon the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission of LBDH’s capital increase.
Once the acquisition is done, MPHHI will have 16 hospitals in its network comprised of Manila Doctors Hospital, Asian Hospital and Medical Center, Makati Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center and Davao Doctors Hospital, to name a few.
“We… are very excited to welcome MPHHI, the largest private hospital network in the country, as our partner in our continuous pursuit of providing ever-improving healthcare services to our community,” LBDH Director-Founder Leslie M. Reyes was quoted as saying.
Ernesto M. Pua, another founder in LBDH, said the entry of MPHHI is in line with the hospital’s goal of increasing its capacity, evidenced by the construction of a new building.
“We invited Metro Pacific at a very crucial time in our hospital’s history… [W]e chose a partner who we know has the track-record to help us operationalize and maximize this added capacity in order to reach and serve more patients,” Mr. Pua was quoted as saying.
Shares in MPIC at the stock exchange inched up three centavos or 0.95% to P3.19 each yesterday.
MPIC is one of three Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group.
