February 20 (SeeNews) - Romanian private healthcare services provider Regina Maria said on Monday it has invested 2 million euro ($2.1 million) since the beginning of 2017 in a new polyclinic in Bucharest and in the acquisition of local peers Al-Medica Berlin and Ixia Medical.
Regina Maria opened a new clinic in the central area of Victoria Square in Bucharest and plans to open another one in the northern part of the city, the company said in a press release.
You can subscribe to our M&A newsletter here
Regina Maria's expansion plan for the beginning of the year also included the acquisition of two Romanian healthcare services providers.
Al-Medica Berlin, based in the southern city of Ploiesti, will be rebranded to Regina Maria Ploiesti. It is offering expertise in 13 different medical areas, which is to be increased this year, Regina Maria said.
Regina Maria also acquired Bucharest-based Ixia Medica clinic, which offers 12 medical specialties.
In 2016, Regina Maria added new units through local acquisitions.
In November, it invested 1.7 million euro in a medical campus in Targu Mures, in the north-central part of Romania. In June, it opened its second polyclinic in the southern city of Pitesti, in Arges county, following a 0.7 million euro investment, aiming to serve over 29,000 clients.
In April, it took over Helios medical centre, based in the southern city of Craiova, for an undisclosed sum and invested 1 million euro in the centre's imaging services unit. Also in spring 2016, it invested 2 million euro in an imaging centre in its hospital in Bucharest.
In March, it bought Bucharest-based private hospital Ponderas, which specializes in metabolic surgery and announced a 15 million euro investment in its first hospital in Cluj-Napoca, in central Romania. The hospital, Regina Maria's biggest investment outside Bucharest, will open in the first half of 2017.
In November 2015, Romania's competition council approved the acquisition of Regina Maria by investment fund Mep Capital. Sources close to the transaction have told local media that it probably tops 100 million euro.
Mep Capital Investments is part of investment fund Mid Europa Partners which is focused on investments in Central and Eastern Europe and Turkey.
Regina Maria was founded in 1995 under the name of CMU. In 2010 it merged with Euroclinic, part of Dutch-based financial services group Eureko, and changed its name. Currently, it operates 35 polyclinics, four hospitals, eight medical campuses and 180 clinics in Bucharest, Cluj, Brasov, Constanta, Bacau and Pitesti, according to data published on the company's website.
The healthcare services provider posted a 90 million euro turnover last year and targets a 15% increase to 110 million euro in 2017.
($=0.9391 euro)