Metro Pacific signs up to acquire 72% stake in Agusan del Sur hospital

Tycoon Manuel Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Health (MPH) has inked a deal to acquire 72 percent of San Francisco Doctors Hospital Inc. in Agusan del Sur, the 25th health-care institution to be annexed to its nationwide chain.

The 100-bed San Francisco Doctors Hospital, which started full operations in 2013, occupies a two-story structure at an 8,000-square meter property in Barangay Hubang, San Francisco.

Based on its website, the hospital is “geographically positioned in the non-coastal area of Caraga Region, along Maharlika Highway that links Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.”

The buy-in deal, which had taken about a year to finalize, was signed on July 25 but is still subject to closing conditions, industry sources said.

MPH vice chair and president Augusto Palisoc Jr. confirmed to the Inquirer that they have indeed signed an investment agreement with San Francisco Doctors Hospital.

“As this involves an infusion of cash into the hospital for new primary shares, we need to await the necessary approvals for the increase in its capital before we can complete the transaction,” Palisoc said in a text message in reply to Inquirer’s query.

“Upon completion, MPH Group will end up with 72 percent of the expanded capital,” he added.

The acquisition is seen to boost MPH’s presence in Mindanao, where it already operates Davao Doctors Hospital, St. Elizabeth Hospital (General Santos City), Manuel J. Santos Hospital (Butuan City), West Metro Medical Center (Zamboanga City) and Howard Hubbard Memorial Hospital (South Cotabato).

In Metro Manila, MPH’s crown Jewels include premium hospitals such as Makati Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center and Asian Hospital and Medical Center.

Other hospitals in the metropolis under MPH’s ecosystem are Manila Doctors Hospital, Marikina Valley Medical Center, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, De Los Santos Medical Center, Commonwealth Hospital and Medical Center, Dr. Jesus C. Delgado Memorial Hospital and UHBI -Parañaque Doctors Hospital, Inc.

In Southern Luzon, MPH has Los Baños Doctors Hospital & Medical Center, Medical Center Imus, Calamba Medical Center and Lucena United Doctors Hospital and Medical Center.

Elsewhere in Luzon, MPH has Central Luzon Doctors’ Hospital (Tarlac), Sacred Heart Hospital of Malolos (Bulacan) and Antipolo Doctors Hospital.

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In the Visayas, it has two hospitals — Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital (Bacolod City) and Ramiro Community Hospital (Bohol).

The 24 hospitals that are already integrated into MPH’s ecosystem have a combined in-patient capacity of 4,025 beds. The network is staffed by 11,000 doctors and 16,000 nurses and employees who serve about 4.2 million patients annually.

Their services are integrated with those of MPH’s 31 outpatient care centers, six cancer care centers, two allied health colleges and a centralized laboratory.

Earlier Bloomberg reports suggested that MPH is preparing anew for a long-delayed stock market debut, while private equity firm KKR, which had invested in the health-care chain along with Singaporean wealth fund GIC in 2019, is considering to sell its stake.

Palisoc said it may take some time for the initial public offering to push through.