MedLife has invested ten million Euros in Braşov

• Yesterday, a 60-bed hospital was inaugurated, and the company has also announced the acquisition of the Eva clinic, the largest private maternity clinic in the region

MedLife yesterday inaugurated in Braşov a polyclinic, and also announced the acquisition of the Eva clinic, the largest private maternity clinic in the region. The company has announced plans to invest 10 million Euros.

The hospital spans a surface of 5,500 square meters, includes a multidisciplinary large ambulatory with 30 medical specializations, an imaging center, a three-room operating block, an Intensive Therapy - Anesthesia department, three shifts which make allow the hospital to run 24 hours a day, its own drug store, as well as rooms with one and two beds. The hospital has a total capacity of 60 beds. The total investment in medical equipment amounts to 2 million Euros. The team of the MedLife hospital of Braşov includes more than 140 employees, of which 50 medics. The management of the hospital expects 120,000 people of the county of Braşov to visit the clinic in the first year of operation, and the hospital to receive about 3,000 patients.

The Eva maternity hospital, the second investment announced by the group, was created in 2007, and has since then seen 4,700 births and 1,200 monthly consultations. MedLife acquired all the shares of the clinic, which will bear the name "Eva MedLife". In order to expand the range of services provided by the clinic, MedLife intends to open a maternal and fetal medical center, the first of its kind in Braşov. It will also include two in-vitro fertilization services, and will perform maternal and fetal medicine surgeries.

Aurel Ionel, the general manager of the clinic and one of the former shareholders said that the "amount involved in the deal was reasonable for both parties". The Eva clinic was owned, until two weeks ago, by Rur Medical, which has four individuals as shareholders - Rusu Ioan (41.9%), Rusu Gabriela (46.06%) and Badea Cristian (3.81) of Braşov and doctor Ionel Aurel (8.23%).

About three months ago, Aurel Ionel said that MedLife would continue investing in the clinic of Braşov, and it has already announced an investment program of approximately 150,000 Euros in retooling and equipment. The most important component of the deal however was the announcement of the investment in a "In-vitro fertilization center" in Braşov, amounting to approximately 1 million Euros. Aurel Ionel also said that pricing would not see major changes. "The price of a normal birth is currently 2,700 lei, whereas a caesarean section costs 3,000 lei. Prices will be adapted to the Braşov region, considering the fact that we want to follow our principle of not becoming prohibitively expensive", the quoted source said.

The Eva clinic received four bids, but the shareholders opted to discuss a potential takeover with Medlife.

• Nine hyperclinics all across Romania

MedLife has spent eight million Euros on acquisitions over the past few years. Some of its other acquisitions include the Rapid Diagnosis Polyclinic group and the Genesys group. The hospital operator has been present on the Romanian market since 1996, having nine hyperclinics in Bucharest, Timişoara, Braşov and Arad, eight analysis laboratories, 28 general medicine centers in Bucharest and all over the country, seven centers with a sole specialization and partnerships with 135 clinics all across Romania.

In 2009, the shareholders of MedLife, the Marcu family and IFC, sold 36.25% of the shares to private fund SGAM Eastern Europe, owned by a subsidiary of the Societe Generale group, a deal estimated at over 20 million Euros. The Marcu family still owns the majority interest, (51%), and IFC owns 12.75%.