METRO PACIFIC HEALTH CORP. (MPH) on Tuesday said it had acquired a 60.88% stake in Lucena United Doctors Hospital and Medical Center (LUDHMC).
In a statement, MPH, the healthcare arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), said it completed its investment in Lucena United Doctors, Inc. (LUDI), the owner and operator of LUDHMC, on Oct. 25, following a tender offer for the remaining 39.12% stake held by other shareholders.
MPH added LUDHMC as the 23rd hospital in its network and the fifth in Southern Luzon, alongside Antipolo Doctors Hospital in Rizal, Medical Center Imus in Cavite, Calamba Medical Center, and Los Baños Doctors Hospital in Laguna.
LUDHMC, a level 2 hospital with 95 beds, provides healthcare services to Lucena and neighboring towns in Quezon Province.
“We welcome MPH’s investment in LUDHMC as we believe that this partnership will bolster LUDHMC further in establishing itself as the undisputed leader in private healthcare in the province,” LUDHMC President Gerardo Carmelo B. Salazar said.
“We are confident that this will help perpetuate the legacies of our founders and bring LUDHMC closer to their dream of becoming a completely equipped, tertiary medical center serving the Quezon Province,” he added.
The investment in LUDI has been in discussion for almost 10 years, said Jose Noel C. de la Paz, corporate development director at MPH.
“We are excited to finally complete this transaction and start working with the LUDHMC community to expand the hospital and upgrade its medical capabilities,” he said.
“With this, it is our goal that residents of Quezon no longer need to go to Metro Manila for more advanced care.”
Some of MPH’s other hospitals include Makati Medical Center, Asian Hospital and Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, Riverside Medical Center, and Davao Doctors Hospital.
“The integration of LUDHMC into the MPH group is a testament to our commitment to make quality healthcare more accessible and affordable for every Filipino,” MPH Chief Executive Officer Harish Pillai said.
“With the size and scale of our group, we will be able to leverage on shared resources and best practices that will bring the MPH standard of care to more communities outside of greater Metro Manila,” he added.
MPIC is one of three key Philippine units of First Pacific, the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave