Ayala acquires controlling stake of Qualimed
Panay Medical Ventures Inc, Iloilo City
Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AC Health) through Healthway Philippines Inc. (HPI), today has signed agreements to acquire a controlling stake of Mercado General Hospital, Inc. (Qualimed), which owns or has interests in the Qualimed Health Network.
The agreements were signed on December 21, 2020, between HPI, led by Paolo Borromeo, AC Health President and CEO, Qualimed, represented by Dr. Edwin Mercado, President and CEO, and Whiteknight Holdings, Inc., represented by Ayala Land, Inc.’s Alfonso Javier D. Reyes. The closing of the transactions shall occur after the fulfillment of the conditions agreed upon by the parties.
The addition of Qualimed expands the AC Health clinic and hospital portfolio, housed under Healthway Philippines Inc. This includes all family, specialty and corporate clinics, which earlier this year were integrated under one Healthway brand. With the acquisition, AC Health will now have four general hospitals, more than 85 outpatient clinics, and about 80 corporate clinics, as well as the country’s first cancer specialty hospital which the company announced previously.
“We have always believed in Qualimed’s vision to deliver accessible and affordable healthcare to Filipinos. Over the past few years, we have built a strong partnership between Qualimed and Ayala Land and we are delighted to integrate Qualimed into AC Health’s growing portfolio. The COVID-19 pandemic has renewed the Ayala Group’s commitment to invest in healthcare, and with this investment, we will be better positioned to provide much-needed healthcare services for the country,” said Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Chairman of the Board of AC Health.
The Qualimed Health Network includes 4 hospitals: Qualimed Sta. Rosa located in Nuvali, Qualimed San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan, Qualimed Iloilo in Iloilo City, and Daniel O. Mercado Medical Center in Tanauan, Batangas. In addition, Qualimed also operates an ambulatory surgical center in UP-PGH, and has clinics in Makati, Quezon City and in Cebu IT Park.
Daniel O. Mercado Medical Center, Tanauan, Batangas
“With the addition of the Qualimed Health Network, AC Health now completes the entire continuum of patient care, from primary clinics, multi-specialty care and now to hospital care. We have taken a deliberate approach to building up our healthcare ecosystem, with the goal of delivering an integrated patient experience for more Filipinos. In addition to expanding our touchpoints, we are also excited about creating unique synergies in our network, such as patient referrals, expanded opportunities for our medical professionals, and greater operational efficiencies on pharmacy and diagnostics,” said AC Health President and CEO, Paolo Borromeo.
“We are delighted to be part of the AC Health family. During this pandemic, our partnership with AC Health to upgrade our hospitals and to build our COVID-19 labs has been pivotal, allowing us to serve thousands of patients across our network. It is this collaborative spirit that will ensure Qualimed’s continued growth during these challenging times. Qualimed has always endeavored to make healthcare more accessible, and we hope this partnership will allow us to accelerate that vision even further” said Dr. Edwin Mercado, President and CEO of Qualimed Health Network.
Qualimed Sta. Rosa and San Jose Del Monte were converted into full-scale COVID-19 Referral Hospitals through upgrades on facilities and manpower. Each hospital was also equipped with its own modular-type BSL-2 laboratory for COVID-19 testing, in support of the IATF’s T3 (Test, Trace, Treat) program. To date, Qualimed has seen about 30,000 confirmed and suspected COVID patients, and has performed over 82,000 COVID tests.
Healthway Philippines Inc. will house all of AC Health’s clinical and hospital businesses. This includes all family, specialty and corporate clinics, which earlier this year were integrated under one Healthway brand. HPI also houses AC Health’s new cancer specialty hospital, which is a partnership with Cancer Treatment Services International (CTSI), a Varian company to develop and operate the first comprehensive oncology center in the Philippines.