Euroclinic, the first large private hospital domestically, will enter a new stage as its shareholders, Eureko Dutch group, are likely to sign the sale to an international operator by yearend.
In 2001, ZF first announced the intention of Eureko, which also controls Interamerican insurer, to develop a private system due to include several hospitals. After seven years, a period during which only one other large hospital (Life Memorial-MedLife) was delivered on the market and a few other competitors announced similar plans, Euroclinic shareholders seem to be rethinking their entire market positioning. But not on their own.
Euroclinic was designed as a private wing of Floreasca hospital, being one of the pilot projects stipulated by the strategy regarding the participation of the private sector in improving the performances of Romania's healthcare system, which was approved through a government decision in 2001.
According to the initial plan, the system developed by Eureko in Romania should have been designed along modules, each with three levels: medical offices, six clinics and a private hospital. The module in Bucharest, whose centre was to be represented by the hospital, was the first phase of the programme. Depending on market conditions, the company was to develop other modules in Bucharest, Timisoara, Constanta, Iasi and Brasov.
Market conditions have changed and Euroclinic's management is speaking for the first time about consolidation on the market of private medical services.
Plans are now tailored along another three levels. "We're in the middle of an expansion project started in the second half of 2007, which takes into account three growth paths: organic, through acquisitions and through a merger with a big international organisation," said Catalin Popa, Euroclinic CEO.
"We are pursuing all these directions as we want to be sure we'll keep our top position on the private hospital market. We see quite an aggressive future on the medical services market in the following period, inclusively in Bucharest. There will be consolidation processes and we want to be ready".
The intention to enter the clinics segment, announced as early as the start of 2008, has not materialised yet because of skyrocketing prices.
Euroclinic ended 2007 with 4.6m-euro revenues, in line with initial estimates. For 2008, Euroclinic, which has 70 beds, has budgeted 6.5m-euro revenues.
In the first half of this year, Euroclinic saw its revenues rise by almost 50% compared with last year. The hospital should become profitable in 2009. Meanwhile, "a merger with a bigger group" could bring the first international operator on the domestic market.
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