January 28 (SeeNews) - Romanian chain of dental clinics Dent Estet, part of MedLife group [BSE:M], said it plans to invest 5 million euro ($5.6 million) in the expansion of its network in the first half of 2022.
Dent Estet also plans to invest in technology and digitalisation, it said in a press release on Thursday.
"This year we follow the same pattern of development - both organically and through acquisitions. The beginning of the year will be marked by the inauguration of a new Dent Estet clinic in Craiova. Also, we have initiated discussions for new partnerships in important centres in the country," Dent Estet CEO and founder Oana Taban said.
In 2021, Dent Estet bought two clinics in Cluj-Napoca and Oradea and opened a new clinic in Ploiesti, worth a total 1.7 million euro.
"Although we have gone through the second pandemic year, there is a notable growing concern of Romanians regarding oral health. The number of new patients who made oral care a priority last year increased by 61%," CEO Oana Taban also said.
Dent Estet now operates 14 clinics in 7 Romanian cities.
Medlife first entered the shareholding structure of Dent Estet in 2016.
MedLife's shares traded flat at 23.1 lei ($5.2/4.7 euro) on the Bucharest Stock Exchange as at 1321 CET on Friday.
(1 euro=4.9459 lei)