Group to acquire local health chain

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Integrated Healthcare Holding (IHH), a Japanese and Malaysian joint venture, is preparing to buy out controlling shares in Acıbadem Hospitals, Turkey’s largest private health chain.

Acıbadem is in the closing stages of talks regarding joining forces, before they form part of the world’s second largest hospital chain. An official letter is expected to be signed by both sides in 10 to 15 days, according a statement by the company. 

“After this partnership we plan to open 26 hospitals in eight different countries, with a 5,500-bed capacity. This will make us second in the world after the Hospital Corporation of America,” Acıbadem Chair Mehmet Ali Aydınlar said in the statement.

“By investing in Europe all the way to the Far East, by 2015 we plan to open 55 hospitals in 12 countries with a 9,500-bed capacity,” he said in reference to proposed future plans. 
After the transfer of 52.1 percent of shares in Acıbadem, Aydınlar’s stake will drop to 22.9 percent from the 75 percent it currently holds. 

The Malaysian government’s investment fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad owns 70 percent of IHH, while the remaining 30 percent is owned by Japan’s Mitsui&Co.