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Johannesburg - Life Healthcare Group Holdings [JSE:LHC] said it would pay
about $108m for a quarter stake in Indian private hospital firm Max Healthcare,
giving it a sizeable exposure to the fast-growing market.
Life Healthcare, South Africa's second-largest private
hospital group by market value, has said it wants to expand beyond its core
market of South Africa, where it competes with rivals Medi Clinic Corporation [JSE:MDC] and
Netcare [JSE:NTC].
The company said in a statement it plans to buy 26% of Max Healthcare, a unit of Indian conglomerate Max India, for about R850m in cash.
Max Healthcare is one India's largest private healthcare providers, Life Healthcare said.
The deal will require exchange control approval from the
South African Reserve Bank and may also require regulatory approval, the South
African company said.
Life Healthcare operates 56 hospitals and maintains more
than 7 000 beds in South Africa.
The company said it was being advised on the deal by Rand
Merchant Bank, a unit of FirstRand [JSE:FSR].
Shares of Life Healthcare are up about a third so far this year, outperforming its two main rivals, and the broad All Share [JSE:J203] index , which is down nearly 4%.
