September 13 (SeeNews) - Romania's anti-trust regulator said on Thursday it has approved the takeover of local healthcare services provider Pelican Group by medical services provider ABC Medicover Holdings.
"Following a review of the transaction, the Competition Council found that it does not raise significant obstacles to effective competition in the market, in particular by establishing or strengthening of a dominant position," the anti-trust authority said in a statement.
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The 23 million euro ($26.7 million) deal for an 80% stake in Pelican Group was announced in May. It includes Pelican Impex, Pelican Servicii, Diagnostica, Via Sana, Farmacia Vitamina and Optica Pelican.
Pelican is based in Oradea, in northwestern Romania.
The acquisition will turn Medicover into the leading private provider in the region, with a total catchment area population of around 1 million, Medicover said in May.
Established in 1992 by leading surgeons, Pelican has a fully equipped hospital with 130 beds, five operating theatres, imaging diagnostics and supporting activities. It posted a revenue of 15 million euro in 2017, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 3.7 million euro.
The acquisition of Pelican Group is Medicover's third major transaction in Romania in 2018, after the takeover of Phoenix Medical Center and Academic Medical Center in Bucharest.
Medicover, an international provider of medical and diagnostic services listed on the Swedish Stock Exchange - Nasdaq Stockholm, recently reported a 17.2% increase in revenues from Romanian operations in the first half of 2018, to 42.2 million euro.
Medicover is present in Romania through the Medicover network of hospitals and clinics and the Synevo laboratories and collection centers.
($= 0.8607 euro)