MPIC eyes Medical City, other hospitals as acquisition targets

MANILA, Philippines — Infrastructure holding firm Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), chaired by tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan, is looking at several hospitals including The Medical City.

Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings Inc. (MPHHI) is also interested in Bethany Hospital in La Union, Pangalinan said.

“We’re also looking at several hospitals in Mindanao like the one in Butuan,” he said.

The Medical City is in the middle of a legal tussle between a faction led by now chairman Jose “Eckie” Gonzales and former president and chief executive officer Alfredo Bengzon.

Pangilinan said The Medical City would be an interesting addition to MPHHI since it is a major hospital in Metro Manila.

“We know St. Luke’s will never be for sale. It’s the last remaining major hospital in Metro Manila,” Pangilinan said.

However, MPHHI will make its move only when the battle over control of the privately-owned healthcare institution is settled.

“We’re just bystanders. It’s a very interesting situation. We haven’t gotten down to (details). We don’t want to get into the middle of this. We are friendly to both (camps),” Pangilinan said.

“I hope the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) will resolve the issue. The welfare of the people is at stake,” he said.

This started when Bengzon, a former secretary of the Department of Health, said his nephew Gonzales and Singapore-based Clermont Group acquired shares of the hospital but failed to disclose the memorandum of agreement (MOA) to other shareholders.

The MOA, which was executed way back in 2013, was claimed to make Gonzales and Clermont as majority shareholders with a combined stake of 54 percent.

Bengzon then went to the SEC to question the legality of the acquisitions based on the Securities Regulation Code (SRC), which exists to protect investors by ensuring full and fair disclosures of share transactions and eliminating fraudulent and manipulative practices.

SRC requires a mandatory tender offer when there is intent to acquire at least 35 percent of a company and then before 50 percent is acquired.

In November last year, the SEC found Gonzales and his foreign partners had violated the SRC.

Gonzales’ camp, however,  is contesting the findings of the corporate regulator.

“For whatever reason and by whatever means, I hope it is settled. It is not an ordinary company, it is a major hospital in the city. Its mission is to promote the wellbeing of the people,” the MPIC chair said.

In 2007, MPIC entered the healthcare industry when it acquired a 32.5 percent stake in Medical Doctors Inc., the owner and operator of Makati Medical Center.

Since then, it has increased its hospital bed capacity to 3,200. It plans to increase this to 5,000.

Other hospitals under the group’s portfolio include Asian Hospital, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, Manila Doctors Hospital, De Los Santos Medical Center, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Delgado Hospital, Marikina Valley Medical Center, Davao Doctors Hospital, Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod, Central Luzon Doctors’ Hospital in Tarlac, West Metro Medical Center in Zamboanga, St. Elizabeth Hospital in General Santos City, and  Sacred Heart Hospital in Malolos, Bulacan.

Apart from acquiring existing hospitals, it is also studying the possibility of putting up its own.

MPIC is also planning to list its hospital arm in the second half.