MPIC to acquire Cardinal Santos hospital lease from affiliate

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., the local arm of Hong Kong conglomerate First Pacific Co. Ltd., is set to acquire Cardinal Santos Medical Center from an affiliate. MPIC told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday that it has entered into an agreement with its affiliate Medical Doctors Inc., owner and operator of the Makati Medical Center, to acquire 100 percent of the shares of Colinas Verdes Managers Corp. (CVHMC). CVHMC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MDI that was established in 2008 to enter into a 20-year Lease Agreement with Philippine Realty Corp. (PRC) to operate CSMC, a 237-bed tertiary hospital located in San Juan. The agreement, which is subject to the approval of PRC, stated that MPIC will acquire 100-percent shares of CVHMC from MDI for P300 million and assume all the guaranteed obligations of MDI to PRC. “This transaction is beneficial to all parties involved. It will generate a substantial amount of cash for MDI to enable it to continue funding its major upgrade programs – facilities renovation, purchase of state-of-the-art medical equipment, environmentally –friendly energy savings initiatives – to modernize and further improve Makati Medical Center," said Augie Palisoc Jr., MPIC Hospital Group president and chief executive officer. Palisoc added that the transaction will also free MDI from the need to possibly fund Cardinal Santos Medical Center’s own expansion program and for the company to pursue other programs for the “benefit of their patients, doctors and other stakeholders." In 2009, MPIC has signed a 20-year management and operations contract with the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila for the CSMC. The MPIC Hospital Group is now the largest private hospital operator in the Philippines consisting of five hospitals with a total of 1,600 beds. Comprising the MPIC Hospital Group are Makati Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan, Metro Manila, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Sta. Mesa Manila, Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod, and Davao Doctors Hospital in Mindanao. - CMA/OMG, GMA News