Carlyle may sell Medical Park stake

ISTANBUL - Reuters

U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group may complete the sale of its shares in Medical Park in the first half of 2013, the Turkish hospital group’s chairman said.

Medical Park’s other main shareholder, the Sancak family, may also consider selling a stake, Muharrem Usta also told Reuters on Friday, adding he would not sell his own shares.

An initial public offering is not on the agenda, he said.

Sources told Reuters that private equity firms Texas Pacific Group and CVC were among those interested in buying a stake in Medical Park.

The hospital chain mandated Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs to look at a possible sale or IPO, Carlyle and the Turkish shareholders said in September.

Carlyle acquired a 40 percent stake in 2009 for an undisclosed amount alongside founders Usta and Haydar Sancak, who each own 30 percent.

Healthcare and private hospitals are popular among private equity houses. Earlier this year, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Malaysia’s state investment company, bought a 75 percent stake in Turkish group Acıbadem Hospital and affiliated companies from Dubai-based Abraaj and Turkey’s Aydınlar family.