Metro Pacific eyeing to acquire 4 more hospitals in 2025

Augusto Palisoc Jr. —FROM METRO PACIFIC HEALTH WEBSITE

MANILA, Philippines – Manuel Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Health Corp. (MPH) may take over up to four hospitals this year to expand its network across the country.

MPH president Augusto Palisoc Jr. told reporters in a recent press briefing that they were talking to “many” hospitals in hopes of securing new deals.

“That’s what we do every day. We talk to all of the hospital owners and try to find the deals that are more imminent,” Palisoc said. “We will try to acquire as many as we can.”

READ: Metro Pacific sets P116-B capex for 2025

The health-care arm of conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) currently has 27 private hospitals in its portfolio.

Last year, MPH bought significant ownership in four hospitals: City of General Trias Doctors Medical Center Inc. in Cavite province, San Francisco Doctors Hospital in Agusan del Sur province, and Parañaque Doctors Hospital and Diliman Doctors Hospital Inc., both in Metro Manila.

In expanding their hospital network, MPIC chief financial officer Chaye Cabal-Revilla said they were encouraged by the double-digit growth in the health-care group’s revenues and profits.

According to Revilla, the health-care arm contributed P560 million to the group’s total earnings last year, representing a 70-percent surge.

MPH’s other hospitals include Asian Hospital and Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, and Manila Doctors Hospital.

In February, MPIC and the Ayala Group agreed to unite their digital health-care systems in a deal valuing the Zobel family-led conglomerate’s KonsultaMD at “less than P1 billion,” Revilla said.

While Metro Pacific Health Tech Corp. (mWell) has fully acquired the flagship healthcare platform of Globe Telecom Inc.’s 917Ventures, KonsultaMD will keep its brand under new management.

Founded in 2015 as a health hotline, KonsultaMD currently has 2.7 million users and “a vast network of partner doctors,” and provides 24/7 consultations, diagnostics, medicine delivery, and home care.

This will add to mWell’s current network of 3.1 million users, including 90,000 across Asia, North and South America, Africa, Oceania, and Europe.

It is likewise seen to complement MPH’s services in its hospitals. INQ