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From silicon valley to national legislatures, debates around the impact artificial intelligence could have on the future of humanity seem to have reached a new fever pitch in recent weeks. [+]
Interview: Jennifer Gendron, Koa Health
HBI speaks to Jennifer Gendron, Global Chief Commercial Officer at digital mental health company Koa Health. Gendron tells us about the digital well-being service Koa Health offers, the new partnership the company has made with global medical and travel risk services provider International SOS, and how this will advance the company’s long-term vision of making personalised, user-friendly mental health tools available for all. [+]
GenesisCare in the US files for bankruptcy
GenesisCare, the radiotherapy group with operations in the US, UK, Australia and Spain, has filed for voluntary reorganisation under chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy code and will look to sell off its US assets. HBI speaks to an advisory source to find out more. [+]
Sweden wants to bring health care system under national government control
Sweden’s government wants to place the country’s health care system under greater central government control. We speak to two Swedish health care experts to find out what this could mean. [+]
Valencian elections hint at the resurrection of Alzira
The leftist government of Valencia has been routed in regional elections. Could this mean a restoration of the out-of-favour Alzira model of public-private partnership (PPP) hospitals? HBI speak to a consultant source to find out more. [+]
Low key Latvia sale kicks off Orpea refocusing
Last week, French nursing home operator Orpea initiated the start of the partial sale of its €1.2bn real estate portfolio, commencing with its Latvian presence - a singular retirement home in Riva. This low key sale marks the first small step in a major three-year plan to refocus its geographies. HBI speaks to a market expert to find out more. [+]
Changes at the top of Runwood Homes
Three members of the senior leadership team at UK nursing home operator Runwood Homes departed the firm last month. COO Lorraine McGarry-Wall, CFO Phillip Thomas, and CEO Jeremy Richardson had all been appointed as directors of the company within the last 12 months. [+]
Market welcomes Apollo hospitals strong FY23 results
Indian hospital group Apollo had a strong showing for its FY23 results, which saw shares in the listed group surge. [+]
Interview: Rahma Samow, global head dental services organization, Straumann Group
Ahead of HBI 2023 next month, we catch up with dentistry panelist Rahma Samow, EVP dental services organizations at Straumann Group, to find out more about her role and the trends surrounding oral health and their impact on enterprise DSOs globally. [+]
Interview: Jason Powell, Co-CEO, UK Vein Clinic Group
We look at how to build a dynamic, low-cost outpatient chain which delivers high quality care and at the UK venous market more generally with Jason Powell, whose UK Vein Clinic Group looks set to grow revenue 50% in 2024, after doubling sales in 2023. [+]
Dutch competition authority gets reined in again
The Netherlands’ activist competition authority has been reined in again. The acquisition of dermatology specialist Mauritskliniek by hospital group Bergman Clinics is no longer barred, after another reversal by a judge. However, the decision is moot, as Mauritskliniek has already been bought by German cosmetic surgery provider Corius Gruppe. [+]
UK private pay growing, but self-pay declines slightly - Infographic
The Private Health Information Network (PHIN) has released its quarterly private market update, showing private pay admissions in the UK through to Q4 2022. [+]
UK outsourcing gets bi-partisan support
Outsourcing to the for-profit sector will become an increasing fact of life in the UK. The two major parties agree it’s necessary to reduce the record-breaking elective care waiting list. A detailed report has already been prepared and is ready for publication, yet HBI understands the long awaited Outsourcing Taskforce plan is set to be released in dribs and drabs. HBI investigates. [+]
Fighting back against brain drain
Western Europe is becoming increasingly dependent on importing talent to address its workforce crisis, but there are signs of resistance to the brain drain. With Nigeria looking to introduce a mandatory domestic five-year service for all doctors, HBI speaks to a global workforce expert to see if this kind of pushback could have any lasting impact. [+]
€1bn+ Luz Saúde IPO could mark return of European health care listings
Luz Saúde, Portugal’s second largest private hospital group by revenue, is set to become a listed company once again after five years of being privately held, in an IPO which could mark the return of European health care listings. The group’s insurer owner Fidelidade plans to retain a strategic majority stake. [+]
The German hospital reforms have become a farce
When German health minister Karl Lauterbach proposed his hospital reforms, he probably imagined himself as the hero of the drama, striding across the political stage and heroically redefining an oversupplied market. Instead, increasingly he looks to have penned a farce. [+]
Lauterbach's "plan to close hospitals" will prevent hospitals closing
German health minister Karl Lauterbach’s broad hospital reform may be dissolving into farce, as he acknowledges a plan which looked designed to close unneeded hospitals could actually save them. [+]
China's new elderly care guidance will create opportunities
China has announced guidance for all provinces to establish a basic elderly care system by the year 2025, according to state-run news channel Xinhua. As the government works to address the impending demographic crisis born largely out of the country's 'one-child policy', HBI speaks to two experts from global strategy firm L.E.K. Consulting to learn more. [+]
The AI revolution in oncology
The AI revolution is coming for oncology, according to CEO Ralph Hefti who helms pan-European radiotherapy group Stingray Healthcare. We catch up with the HBI 2023 panelist to find out more. [+]
Germany looks to emerging markets for care workers
As an aging population compounds Germany’s workforce crisis, the search for staff continues to expand outside Europe. With the government launching an initiative to attract skilled care workers from Brazil and beyond, HBI speaks to two market experts to find out more. [+]
TVM Capital opens Riyadh office to expand Saudi footprint
Emerging markets-focused PE health care firm TVM Capital Healthcare is opening a new office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to assist the expansion of its portfolio companies in the country. [+]
UK patients paying up to £550 for GP appointments
As the UK NHS continues to struggle, increasingly patients are turning to private primary care. HBI understands some are paying up to £550 per hour. [+]
Are some private clinicians effectively licensed drug dealers?
This week the BBC released a panorama episode entitled ‘Private ADHD Clinics Exposed’, in which it went undercover to find that three private clinics in the UK are giving out ADHD prescriptions based on a short and potentially unreliable online assessment delivered by a non-psychiatrist. Is there a wider issue that there is a perverse incentive in private health care to over diagnose and over prescribe? [+]
WHO warnings of AI in healthcare
In a report published this week by the UN agency, the WHO has raised concerns about the patient safety and potential risks associated with the use of AI language platforms simulating human interactions in healthcare. Public health experts are also calling for a pause on developments until regulations have caught up. [+]
Private ADHD clinics in the UK prescribing after online assessment
The BBC’s Panorama team has found that there are private ADHD clinics in the UK that are prescribing for ADHD based on just a short and, it says, unreliable online assessment. [+]
Another German nursing home restructuring due to financial issues
Last month Berlin-based Dorea - a subgroup of European care homes Groupe Maisons de Famille - became the latest German nursing home operator to file for restructuring due to financial difficulties. As the number of companies financially struggling ramps up at an alarming rate and in quick succession, HBI speaks to two market experts to find out what’s going on. [+]
Interview: Stephane Pichon, Your Care Consult
HBI catches up with Stephane Pichon ahead of the Investing in Health Care Property panel at HBI 2023, to discuss the dramatic changes of the past year and how this has impacted health care real estate investment, and the long term outlook for the health care sector. [+]
Top destinations for holiday dialysis - Infographic
In its recent ESG report, multinational dialysis firm Diaverum revealed the top 10 countries in Europe and internationally where patients use the group's holiday dialysis treatment. [+]
Korian says name change is “not a rebrand”
Last month leading French nursing home operator Korian announced that as of July 1, it will be adopting a new name. Going forward, parent company Korian will be known as ‘Clariane’ - a name HBI understands is designed to evoke clarity and transparency. Is this a reaction to the recent scandals engulfing the sector? Korian claims not. Our sources disagree. [+]
EDG "pulled from sale"
HBI hears the sale of Nordic-owned multinational dentist-led European Dental Group (EDG) is no longer going ahead. Multiple well-placed sources tell us more. [+]
Blackstone acquires Care Hospitals, whilst rival bidder sues
US-based PE firm Blackstone is acquiring Care Hospitals, one of India's largest hospital groups, for around $800m. Meanwhile Max Healthcare, another one of India’s largest private hospital groups and a former front-runner in the sale process, is suing Care Hospitals and its PE owner TPG, for breaching an exclusivity agreement for the sale signed in March. [+]
Is Kursana a Cinderella?
Dussmann, the big European facilities management company which also owns Kursana, the fifth largest German nursing home group, saw revenue grow 20% to €2.8 billion in 2022. The company claimed that this was “almost exclusively organic.” But the Care & Kids division which is mainly Kursana didn’t grow at all. Is it a Cinderella? [+]
UPMC continues Irish expansion
US-based multinational hospital group UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre) has bought Irish sports medicine hospital Sports Surgery Clinic. It is the US group’s fourth hospital in Ireland. [+]
Strong growth for Synlab in final quarterly results before going private
Multinational listed labs group Synlab continues to grow its core operations as Covid testing winds down and it prepares to go private, with a healthy 10% organic revenue growth in Q1 2023. [+]
Babylon to be taken private by creditors
Shareholders in Babylon, which was worth $4.2bn at listing in October 2021, face being wiped out as it reverts to private ownership as creditor Albacore takes over. CEO and founder Ali Parsa, whose remuneration totalled $7.1m in 2022, is likely to stay on, says a legal expert who says the group could face legal action. [+]
A bientôt Korian, bonjour Clariane!
When an organisation is marred by a reputational scandal so harmful that it jeopardises the bottom line, often a corporate rebrand is the only solution. This course of action is nothing new and there are countless examples of successful makeovers across industries, and health care is no different. [+]
Dutch nursing home consolidation infographic - Infographic
The Dutch nursing care market is highly consolidated, primarily by the top for-profit French operators - namely Korian and Orpea - who have been acquiring multiple smaller Dutch operators since 2018. Five years on, the two leading French giants control over 60% of the beds in the market under various different brand names. The big two have acquired the lower tier competitors so there aren't that many targets left to acquire. This infographic is kindly supplied by Dutch healthcare consultancy Vardetun. [+]
€1bn+ German outpatient group sale to shake up market
German out-of-hospital intensive care provider Deutsche Fachpflege is reportedly up for sale, in a deal that could value the company in excess of €1bn. HBI understands other players in the sector may also be coming up for sale in the coming months. [+]
Sales rumours make Fresenius' future clearer
Germany-based health care conglomerate Fresenius’ plans for its future are becoming clearer as rumours of subsidiary sales come to the fore. [+]
Catalonia ripe for investment
Catalonia has witnessed a string of promising health-focused investments in the first quarter of 2023. [+]
Ireland's ‘Fair Deal Scheme’ for nursing homes under fire
As an Irish nursing home is pulls one of its homes out of the public funding scheme citing “extreme financial pressure”, and elements in the government appear increasingly hostile to for-profits in the sector, HBI speaks to a market expert and asks if this is a blip, or a trend. [+]
Finnish outsourcing opportunities slow to materialise
The SOTE reform to the Finnish health care system has been in place since January 1, 2023, but additional outsourcing opportunities have been slow to materialise. Operators are nonetheless convinced they are on the way. [+]
NHS England to give pharmacists right to prescribe for common ailments
NHS England is giving pharmacists the right to prescribe antibiotics for seven common ailments, in a plan that is expected to free up 15m GP appointments. [+]
Orpea restructuring: What will it look to sell?
It has been almost six months since under-fire French nursing home giant Orpea announced plans to get its core business back on track, restructure its debt, and sell around €1.2bn worth of real estate over the next three years. As discussions separating the wheat from the chaff go on behind closed doors, HBI asks three experts where, and what it might sell, and reviews what other French operators like Korian are doing to repair reputation. [+]
Why there is no quick fix for German healthcare
At times, it can feel like healthcare reform moves at the pace of an oil tanker, and currently, nowhere is this more true than in Germany. Among the issues holding the EU5 market back are an allergy to digitalisation, an inability to make unpopular decisions, and the rigidity of roles in the medical profession. [+]
Finnish healthcare looks strong despite big groups' mixed results
On first glance the Q1 reports for Finnish groups Pihlajalinna and Terveystalo present a mixed look at the state of the for-profit market in Finland – but this couldn’t be further from the truth. [+]
Challenges and opportunities in Italian imaging
HBI catches up with an operator in the Italian imaging market to discuss some of the major challenges and opportunities the sector faces. [+]
CQC in UK ramps up prosecutions - and penalties - post Covid
UK healthcare watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has ramped up its prosecutions post Covid, with the average penalty increasing by 242% - from £160,000 pre-pandemic (2017-2019) to £550,000 post-pandemic (2020-2022). [+]
Inflexibility and data protection holding Germany back
Role rigidity in German hospitals and data protection laws are holding Germany back, according to a professor at a university hospital. HBI speaks to a workforce expert to find out more. [+]
More strikes on the way in Finland and Croatia
As the global health care workforce crisis shows no signs of slowing, HBI looks at what is happening in Finland and Croatia, where industrial action is underway. [+]
Activist Dutch competition authority gets reigned in
Last year we reported that The Netherlands’ competition authority was becoming increasingly activist in blocking health care mergers. But two recent decisions, one from the government and one from a judge, call into question the extent to which it can do this. [+]
Sonic continues consolidation of German labs with another acquisition
Multinational Australian labs group Sonic is acquiring regional German labs group Medical Laboratories Duesseldorf (MLD), in its second acquisition in the sector in the space of one month. [+]
German hospital reforms "breach constitution" - but some hospitals will close
German health minister Karl Lauterbach’s controversial hospital reforms have hit another bump in the road, with a new 144 page legal report stating the proposals are outside of the federal government's jurisdiction - and against the constitution. [+]
UK healthcare property market healthy, despite headwinds
According to global property consultant Knight Frank, the UK healthcare property market saw significant transaction volumes closing at circa £2.4bn in 2022 despite political instability, with overseas capital accounting for 31% of transaction volume due to a mix of European and American capital being deployed into various care assets. [+]
Spanish PMI boost as government tries workforce fix
Continued inefficiencies in the Spanish NHS continue to drive an increased uptake in private medical insurance (PMI), as the government tries to patch up an under par public workforce. [+]
Bismarckian systems tend to pay nurses better than NHS systems - Infographic
In this week's infographic we look at data on average nursing salaries across several European countries, categorised by whether they have Bismarckian/statutory insurance systems or NHS systems. [+]
UK CQC strike escalates - inspections could be delayed
Hundreds of staff at UK government watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have voted for further industrial action amid an ongoing dispute over pay. A one-day strike took place last week on Monday, April 17 and another is expected to happen next week on Tuesday, May 2. [+]
Flemish government wants to ban profit on care-giving
The Flemish government wants to ban profit-making from care-giving in the nursing home sector in the Flemish region of Belgium. [+]
Is any German nursing home truly safe from bankruptcy?
The nursing home industry in Germany has been rocked by a spate of bankruptcies in recent months. As another operator bites the dust, it has left many wondering - are more to come? HBI speaks to two market experts to decipher whether the ‘once is a mistake, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern’ adage holds any water. [+]
IK Partners to take UK teleradiology provider Medica private
Listed UK-based teleradiology provider Medica is being taken private by PE firm IK Investment Partners, which has made an offer of £269m to buy all of the group’s shares. Medica has accepted the offer, which was 32.4% higher than the group’s average market cap over the past three months. [+]
Interview: Dr. Francois Sarkozy, Président FSNB Health & Care, Founder of Tous pour la Sante.tv
What is the trajectory of healthcare reform in France? And what opportunities and threats does that pose for the for-profit sector? Is outsourcing likely to increase? …Who better to answer this than Dr Francois Sarkozy, whose strategy consultancy covers everything from market access through to public affairs. [+]
What the Marie Celeste NHS feels like today
Mansfield Advisers recent research showed that whilst the number of doctors and nurses working for the NHS has risen by 15% since 2019 and the Covid pandemic, the actual volume of work has fallen to 90% of the levels in 2019. What does that really feel like? [+]
Unilabs consolidates Dutch labs by acquiring Atalmedial
Multinational Swiss labs giant Unilabs is consolidating its position in the Dutch labs market by acquiring Atalmedial, one of the largest national players. [+]
The confused politics of health care
Regular HBI readers understand the widely-held belief that in health care “for-profit = bad” is far from the whole story - and often not a part of it. But it is worth pondering where this view comes from, and disentangling the various assumptions which underlie it, in order to separate ideas which have some justification from those that are confused, or even outright inconsistent. [+]
Amanat loses a CEO, and gains a platform
UAE-based listed health care and education investment firm Amanat Holdings has had an interesting few weeks. First, its high-flying CEO departed the group, allegedly by mutual consent - but without an immediate successor. Now Amanat has announced it is consolidating its healthcare assets into a single platform. [+]
Swiss premium rise will not benefit operators
Despite 2023 seeing the highest premium increase in over a decade, the price of Switzerland’s compulsory insurance is likely to rise again in 2024. Swiss operators tell HBI they aren’t getting help to deal with inflation. [+]
Interview: David Talby, John Snow Labs
HBI speaks to David Talby, a computer scientist based in Seattle who has been working as chief technology officer at John Snow Labs, a US-based AI software company with a keen interest in natural language processing, for the past four years. [+]
Temasek buys $2bn additional stake in Manipal
Singaporean state-owned investment conglomerate Temasek is to become majority shareholder in Manipal Hospitals, one of India’s largest hospital chains, as it increases its stake from 18% to 59%. [+]
Two Korian cooks to face manslaughter charges
Two cooks working for multinational French elderly care giant Korian are being charged with manslaughter over the deaths of five elderly care residents in a food-poisoning incident which took place at one of the group’s French nursing homes in 2019. [+]
Consolidation is not the only answer: Why PE must focus on efficiency
European private equity (PE) health care investors have relied heavily on growing the scale and revenue of the companies they’ve acquired to create returns over the past decade, especially through consolidation, according to a new report by consultancy Bain & Company. But changing economic conditions may force them to pivot towards focusing on boosting margins through operational efficiency in the coming years. [+]
Mubadala-backed M42 buying Diaverum "for $2bn+"
Swedish multinational dialysis firm Diaverum is being bought by M42, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co and AI firm G42, for a reported $2bn-$2.5bn. Diaverum’s CEO tells HBI the deal offers further opportunities to develop its digital strategies, and international expansion. [+]
How will AI change healthcare services?
Healthcare services companies and public health systems are looking at ways they can integrate AI into their workflows. What will the future of healthcare services look like? HBI speaks to digital health experts to find out more. [+]
More UK outsourcing on the way, and NHS crisis here to stay as doctors look abroad
The government taskforce setting out how the UK NHS will outsource more to tackle its record-breaking backlog is set to be published soon. However while the private sector is willing to help, other long-term issues like workforce and capacity mean public sector issues will persist. HBI speaks to UK healthcare sources to find out more. [+]
Why are so many European health care workers revolting?
One of the enduring themes of 2023 is the hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers across Europe taking to the streets to strike, protest, and voice their anger. [+]
Founder of DomusVi Spain to stand down
After 23 years, the former CEO and founder of elderly care specialist DomusVi Spain is leaving the group. [+]
Interview: Edward Booty, CEO, reach52
HBI catches up with Edward Booty, CEO at Singapore based health platform Reach52, to find out about growth during a pandemic, the importance of primary care, and digital health solutions. [+]
What is the solution to the German nursing crisis?
German nursing homes are struggling to attract staff in a competitive workplace, as paperwork and regulations are getting in the way. Two market experts tell HBI bureaucracy is stifling growth at a time when it is vital a pragmatic view is taken of the workforce. [+]
Practice Plus Group launches affordable self-pay offering
UK hospital operator Practice Plus Group has launched a middle-market option for self-pay at a time when the segment is growing. [+]
Medica results show familiar state of UK healthcare services
Medica, which provides teleradiology services to the UK NHS, operates in Ireland, and has a presence in the US, has released its latest financial results. The company is continuing to grow, but feeling the pinch from inflationary pressures. [+]
Digital health booming in CEE
Digital health is booming in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), boosted by several countries in the region introducing major policy initiatives to integrate telehealth solutions and digitise their health systems. CEE-based multinational law firm Kinstellar spells this out in its latest ‘Current eHealth trends in CEE and Turkey’ report. [+]
Spanish insurer for doctors sees profit boost
A Spanish mutual insurance company which caters specifically to doctors saw its profits and uptake rise as the global health workforce crisis shows no signs of abating. [+]
Interview: Anuschka Coovadia, CEO, Usizo Advisory
HBI talks to Anuschka Coovadia, CEO at South-Africa based advisory group Usizo Advisory, about payor-provider relationships in Africa and ongoing efforts to improve healthcare coverage. [+]
German property group selling off €1.3bn portfolio
It has been almost two years since listed Germany-based healthcare property specialist Vonovia acquired its former rival Deutsche Wohnen. We speak to three Germany-based experts to find about more about the ongoing sale of its £1.3bn property portfolio. [+]
Do AI chatbots work in healthcare as well as humans? (Poll)
AI chatbots are becoming increasingly popular in the healthcare industry, and there is growing evidence to suggest that they can work just as well as humans in certain scenarios. [+]
The state of digital health policy in CEE - Infographic
CEE law firm Kinstellar has released its latest update on the state of digital health in Central and Eastern Europe. The April 2023 version of 'Current e-Health trends in CEE and Turkey' focuses primarily on the state of policy and regulation on digital health across nine countries in the region. [+]
Uptake of telemedicine is higher in women in emerging markets
Telemedicine is being hailed as healthcare’s answer to the problem of access, particularly in emerging markets. But it’s women - often unintentionally - who are proving to be the most avid users of decentralized models. HBI speaks to two Africa and Asia based access experts to understand why. [+]
Deal activity bouncing back in SE Asia
Last week we wrote about an expected return to normal of M&A deal activity in Europe in Q2, after a slow few months driven by macroeconomic uncertainty. In South East Asia deal activity already appears to be returning to a healthier level, with multiple $1bn+ deals reportedly underway. [+]
Diaverum deal: An analysis
Last week the news broke that Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co might be set to buy Swedish multinational dialysis firm Diaverum for a reported $2.5bn. HBI speaks to an operator source who thinks this would be a good price for the seller - and hears why some investors are switched off by dialysis. [+]
Interview: Steven Pink, CEO, Verve Healthcare
HBI speaks to Steven Pink, CEO of London-based primary care co-op SELDOC, about a new corporate wellness spin-out called Verve Healthcare. [+]
Interview: Jose Bailey, commercial director, CHEC
UK-based and NHS focused ophthalmology group CHEC is branching out - expanding its offering, going private in Wales, and diversifying into endoscopy with new dual purpose clinics. HBI chats with Jose Bailey, commercial director, to find out more. [+]
Sonic acquires Diagnosticum
Multinational Australian labs giant Sonic is buying Diagnosticum, a medium-sized German labs chain which operates 15 laboratories and employs 25 pathologists, for €190m. [+]
Mediclinic acquisition conditional on "hidden tax" pro-bono surgery and training spend
South Africa’s competition tribunal have officially approved the acquisition of South Africa-based multinational hospital group Mediclinic, but the buyers needed to accept conditions which were less to do with competition, and more to do with the public good. [+]
The secret to REIT success: Be picky
As inflation and energy costs spiral out of control, traditional brick and mortar investments in elderly care are increasingly being perceived as potentially risky business. An award-winning Madrid-based REIT tells HBI its formula success in a difficult climate. [+]
Orpea shareholders try to avoid mass dilution
French nursing home giant Orpea’s snubbed shareholders group Concert’O has teamed up with other unsecured lenders in a last-ditch attempt to avoid mass share dilution. Protesting at the operator’s restructuring deal, the group has presented an alternative plan. [+]
Bupa Dental Care to close 85 UK practices
Bupa Dental Care, the UK’s second largest dentistry group by revenue, is closing 85 of its 450 UK practices. The group says the move was driven by difficulty in recruiting enough dentists to provide NHS care, as well as rising costs and difficulties surrounding the NHS contract model. [+]
Infographic: Life Expectancy in top 5 European Markets - Infographic
This week, HBI looks at the life expectancy of total populations in the big five Western European markets - the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain - using public data from OECD. This report doesn’t include Scandinavian countries which notoriously boast the longest life expectancies on the continent. [+]
M&A set to bounce-back in Q2?
Economic uncertainty and concerns about a looming recession led to a slowdown in M&A deal flow in H2 last year. 2023 has got off to a slow start too - with a dearth of larger deals in particular. But HBI hears Q2 could see the start of the bounce back - and that even the threat of a global banking crisis isn't dampening the enthusiasm of PE firms, which have other sources of capital. [+]
UAE sovereign wealth fund "targets $2.5bn Diaverum"
Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co is considering the acquisition of $2.5bn Swedish pan-European dialysis group Diaverum, according to reports. [+]
Is the deals dam ready to burst?
Economic uncertainty and a slew of global problems led to an M&A slowdown at the end of last year, and into 2023. Could we see a flood of deals in Q2? [+]
Icade reaches agreement to sell healthcare real estate to Primonial REIM
French real estate investment trust Icade has signed an exclusivity agreement on the sale of its minority stake in Icade Santé, part of its healthcare real estate portfolio, to France-based pan-European real estate investment firm Primonial REIM, and is arranging the sale of the asset portfolio owned by Icade Healthcare Europe (IHE). [+]
French radiology and teleradiology consolidation set to heat up
The long awaited consolidation of French imaging is set to ramp up, especially in the attractive fields of radiology and teleradiology, according to French sources. [+]
Interview: Pretty Mubaiwa, Director of Corporate Affairs, Africa Resource Centre
How is it you can find Coco-Cola in remote villages in Africa, but not much needed healthcare supplies? HBI catches up with Pretty Mubaiwa, South-Africa-based director of corporate affairs at supply-chain expert advisory group the Africa Resource Center (Arc), to find out more. [+]
$1.3bn+ Ramsay Sime Darby sale revived
Ramsay Sime Darby, the South East Asian branch of multinational Australian hospital giant Ramsay, may be up for sale again. The previous sale process to Asia’s largest multinational hospital group IHH Healthcare Bhd was ditched back in September. [+]
Doctors offered substantial referral bonuses to recruit colleagues
In the increasingly competitive battle for top talent, some private hospitals in the UK - including some of the US-owned hospitals in London - are putting referral schemes worth thousands of pounds in place for doctors who refer potential colleagues to for-profit groups. Golden hellos are also being deployed. HBI speaks to London analysts and a workforce expert to find out more. [+]
Europe's biggest health care real estate deals in 2022 - Infographic
Real estate consultancy Knight Frank has released its 2022/23 UK Healthcare Property Market Overview. But don't let the name fool you - the report includes some great data from across the whole of Europe! In this week's infographic we look at major health and care real estate transactions. [+]
Controversial GPs out-of-hours system could see Hungarian doctors leave the country
The Hungarian government has increased the intensity of its attacks on the doctors association (MOK) as it seeks to enforce its out-of-hours system for GPs. This could trigger the mass exodus of Hungarian doctors, and have a knock on effect on for profit operators. [+]
Private sector nurses go on strike in Portugal for the first time
On Thursday, March 16, private sector nurses in Portugal participated in a nationwide strike for the first time in history. The union is demanding better compensation, capped working hours, and better working conditions. [+]
US$1bn merger bid between Australia's second and third largest labs groups
Two of Australia’s largest diagnostic groups by revenue may about to merge: pathology chain Australian Clinical Labs (ACL) has made a A$1.52bn (US$1.02bn) offer for Healius, a larger rival which has diagnostic imaging capacity as well. [+]
AI is about to change everything
For those old enough to remember the latter years of the 1990s, consider the following curiosity about this period: despite the Internet (or the World Wide Web, as it was known back then) being so much the rage that it led to a stock market bubble - and crash - with businesses across a range of industries expending significant resources trying to find ways to cash in on it, most ordinary people had never used it. [+]
Ultrasound the ‘biggest opportunity in UK imaging’
Ultrasound represents the biggest opportunity in diagnostic imaging in the UK market, according to a major operator in the sector. Portability, lower costs and larger volumes compared to X-ray, CT and MRI make it particularly attractive for agile for-profit providers in a sector long-dominated by the NHS. [+]
Interview: Sam Gray, Apposite Capital
London-based PE group Apposite Capital is among the most active investors in health care in Europe. HBI chats with managing partner Sam Gray about the state of the market and pricing, how he sees that changing, and the investment opportunities piquing his interest at present. [+]
The future of telehealth is partly in bricks and mortar
With Covid hopefully on the wane, the firm foothold digital health established in many markets is looking a little less stable. What next for groups like Swedish telehealth firm Kry? HBI speaks to two experts and Kry itself to find out why telehealth is getting physical. [+]
Inflow of nurses to top five European markets - Infographic
This week, HBI looks at the annual inflow of nurses from abroad to the big five Western European markets - the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain - using public data from OECD. Those looking for an outlier need look no further than the UK. [+]
Watch out! Here come the heavyweight tech disrupters
HBI does not often report on deals taking place “across the pond” so when something does make our pages, it’s significant, and a portent of things to come. Amazon’s staggering $3.9bn acquisition of One Medical which we covered earlier this month certainly fits the bill in both regards. Here come the tech disrupters. [+]
Cinven looks to take Synlab private as Covid boost falters
Frankfurt-listed Synlab could be about to be taken private following a non-binding full takeover offer earlier this week. With its full year results released yesterday and facing questions about its plans, HBI asks market experts what they think of the move. [+]
Private sector price increases likely as budget offers no reprieve for UK NHS
The UK budget on Thursday, March 16, offered no reprieve for a cash-starved NHS, meaning for-profit demand is here to stay. HBI speaks to a UK-based consultant to find out more. [+]
Could Orpea's creditors derail a 'done deal'?
Orpea is trying to put a year of scandal, scrutiny, and scathing headlines behind it, but disgrunteld creditors worried about share dilution are attempting to derail its carefully crafted transformational plan. HBI speaks to a market expert to weigh up their prospects for success, and find out more. [+]
African healthcare's do it yourself plan
The pandemic exposed the fragility of supply chains in emerging markets, and their overdependence on international networks. As delegates at the IFC’s conference in Cape Town, South Africa heard last month, there is a renewed appetite in Africa for self-sufficiency and a coordinated shift towards regionalisation. [+]
Japanese investors target African health care
An increasing number of Japanese investors are looking to invest in African health care. As Africa strives to increase accessibility to care and increase insurance coverage, we speak to an investor who things the Japanese model is a good fit. [+]
EMR boost in Germany and Sweden
Sweden is looking to centralise more data – primarily to boost the efficiency of its electronic medical records (EMR). Meanwhile German health minister Karl Lauterbach is making the German patient medical records an opt-out system to boost uptake. HBI speaks to experts to find out how these developments will affect healthcare services. [+]
Max Healthcare and KKR left in the race for Care Hospitals in India
India-based hospital group Max Healthcare and PE firm KKR are the bidders still left in the race to acquire another India-based hospital group, Care Hospitals. [+]
Interview: Tony Veverka, Y1 Capital and Transform
UK-based Transform Hospital Group has gone through its own transformation recently. Historically a medical aesthetics, cosmetic and weight loss surgery-focused business, the group went into administration last year and was bought by a team including former CEO Tony Veverka who is reshaping it into a leaner, broader healthcare services provider. HBI catches up with him to find out more. [+]
Virtus grows in Denmark, targets international patients
Australia-based fertility specialist Virtus Health has a new showpiece clinic in Copenhagen. HBI hears it is targeting both locals and medical tourists, and speaks to a source to find out more about the appeal of the Danish market. [+]
Cinven looking to take Synlab private
London headquartered global PE firm Cinven has submitted a non-binding offer to fully take over Europe's largest lab group Synlab, the company confirmed today, following speculation it was looking to take the group private. [+]
Is there still fertile ground for medical tourism?
As European law homogenises and countries across the continent fall into step, does this mean an end to the once lucrative medical tourism trade enjoyed by countries with softer regulation? Perhaps surprisingly, HBI hears not completely – or at least not yet. [+]
Interview: Simon Miller, Headspace
HBI speaks to Simon Miller, Headspace’s international partner lead, about the company’s long-term vision to create a digital mental health platform offering a personalised service across a wide continuum of care. [+]
UK for-profit demand stays high as cash-starved NHS faces tough choices
For-profit demand in the UK is likely to remain high, as the UK government stalls on its plans to increase public sector capacity. HBI speaks to a UK-based consultant to find out more. [+]
FutureLife acquires again in Spain
Czechia-based fertility group FutureLife continues to expand in Spain with its latest acquisition. HBI chats with a European fertility operator to find out what is making the Spanish market appealing to investors. [+]
Ireland to fund fertility for the first time
The Irish government is set to fund fertility treatment for eligible patients for the first time. HBI speaks to an Ireland-based operator to find out more. [+]
Merger strengthens Medigold's occupational health offering
Medigold, one of the UK’s largest occupational health care providers, is acquiring Health Management, a major competitor, in a deal that will make it the UK's largest provider of occupational health in terms of number of employees covered. [+]
German PE crackdown could actually be surprise boost for bigger groups
German health minister Karl Lauterbach’s attempt to stop “locust investors” from owning outpatient facilities could actually end up benefitting large PE firms. HBI speaks to sources in Germany to find out more. [+]
Reconciling payor-provider tensions
Relationships between payors and providers can be notoriously tricky. As attendees at the recent IFC conference in Cape Town, South Africa heard, the difference is often over how value is defined - and as providers grow, the balance of power is shifting. [+]
How do university hospitals best work with medtech?
The relationship between Big Medtech and university hospitals can be tense. Often, medtech is accused of opaque pricing, of selling Ferraris to physicians, of disguising a short-termist approach based on quarterly sales targets under the banner of partnership. But is there an alternative? Here we talk to Neil Wright, commercial director at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, a major London trust, about a different, longer-term approach. [+]
KPJ Healthcare exiting Indonesia citing rules imposed on foreign operators
KPJ Healthcare Bhd, Malaysia’s second largest for-profit hospital group by revenue, is to sell its Indonesian hospital operations to rival Columbia Asia Healthcare. This will mark its exit from the country. Luxembourg-based PE firm CVC Capital Partners is reportedly considering buying a minority stake in the group. [+]
Covid put mental health in the spotlight - for a while - Infographic
In this week's infographic we look at survey data collected by digital health company Headspace for its 2022 Workforce Attitudes report. According to the data, a majority (71%) of UK employees think their company increased its focus on employee mental health in response to Covid, but only a quarter think their company has retained this focus over the past year. [+]
Spire returns to profit, but shares still fall
Shareholders did not give UK hospital group Spire’s full year results a warm reception, despite a return to profit, generally strong financials, and the continued viability of the UK market. HBI talks to market experts to find out why. [+]
Ramsay bounces back from sale saga with strong H1 results
The half-year results of Australia-based multinational hospital group Ramsay Health Care were received positively by investors as revenue, profit and EBITDA all saw a jump. [+]
Affidea-backed Fortius Clinic buys London Schoen Clinic orthopaedics hospital
Affidea subsidiary Fortius Clinic, which is the UK's largest orthopaedics company, is acquiring Schoen Clinic London, an orthopaedics hospital in central London which is part of Germany-based Schoen Clinic Group. [+]
How to plug the brain drain
A substantial part of the global workforce is born, raised and trained in emerging markets - and then promptly leaves to work elsewhere. How can you plug the brain drain? [+]
Amazon completes acquisition of One Medical for $3.9bn
Retail tech giant Amazon has completed its $3.9bn acquisition of US primary care chain One Medical, after The US Federal Trade Commission gave the deal the green light. For the first time ever, a big tech company will now be involved in the delivery of clinic-based health care services. [+]
Key themes and takeaways from the IFC's Emerging Markets conference
Last month, thought leaders from private healthcare systems across the globe gathered in Cape Town, South Africa, to network, share their findings, and consider how emerging markets can become more resilient. HBI was there, and these are our key themes and takeaways. [+]
SE Asia’s pushes to primary care - but volumes and logistics are key
Providers in Southeast Asia have made a pronounced push towards primary care in recent years - but it hasn’t been all plain sailing with logistical challenges and high costs to contend with. Singapore and the Philippines are leading the way, as attendees at the recent IFC conference in Cape Town, South Africa, heard. [+]
Government pressure could see mass resignations of Hungarian doctors
The Hungarian government has demonised the Hungarian Medical Chamber (MOK) after the doctor's union warned its members not to sign up to an on-call system for GPs. It sparks fresh concerns of a workforce exodus at a time when patients are increasingly turn to private care - and could be a boon for for-profits. [+]
Cloud-based reporting could transform diagnostic imaging
The landscape for diagnostic imaging has fundamentally changed over the last two decades, as imaging has shifted out of the hospital and teleradiology has taken off. Are cloud-based enterprise reporting platforms the answer? We speak to an enthusiastic reporting platform CEO and a more sceptical imaging operator to find out more. [+]
Biggest hospital chain in Philippines may IPO for $1bn
Metro Pacific Hospitals, the Philippines' most expansive hospital chain with 12 hospitals and seven medical centres across the country, is considering going public at a valuation of up to $1bn in a revival of a plan that was initially shelved in 2019, according to reports. [+]
Shareholders unconvinced by "future Fresenius"
Michael Sen, CEO of multinational healthcare conglomerate Fresenius, finally set out his long-awaited plan for a “Future Fresenius” at the group’s end of year results this week. But is it a radical shake up, or PR puff? HBI investigates why shareholders appear unconvinced. [+]
Which countries can claim to have universal health coverage? - Infographic
In this week's infographic we look at OECD data on health coverage across several countries and compare it to survey data on the percentage of people satisfied with the availability of quality health care in the area where they live. [+]
Anti private sentiment - winds of change, or just hot air?
This week, reforms in Germany see us taking another look at the plans of Germany’s controversial health minister Karl Lauterbach. He really doesn’t seem to be a fan of for-profit investors! Are the winds of change coming to flatten the investor landscape – or is he full of hot air? [+]
Employers driving up Scandi PMI
Despite its reputation for excellent public healthcare and an economy as close to socialist as a capitalist country can be, private medical insurance (PMI) is on the up in Scandinavia. HBI speaks to three operators to find out more. [+]
Korian share price plummets after release of 2022 results
Korian, Europe’s largest nursing home operator by revenue, has seen its share price plummet 23% after it published its full-year results on Wednesday, February 22. The results revealed a 62% fall in net profit for 2022, due largely to inflation, but analysts tell us the company faces bigger problems related to the French elderly care sector's scandal, and debt refinancing. [+]
Legal challenges may derail German investor crackdown
HBI hears German health minister Karl Lauterbach’s plan to stop “locust investors” from buying up outpatient facilities may be shot down by a double whammy of legal and political considerations. HBI speaks to a Germany-based lawyer and healthcare expert to find out more. [+]
Good growth but profit problems for Terveystalo and Attendo in 2022
Elderly care group Attendo and outpatient group Terveystalo, two pan-Nordic giants with over a billion in revenue, struggled to turn a profit in 2022. This was despite strong (organic) revenue growth, set against a backdrop of rising inflation. HBI looks at the newly released results of both groups to find out more. [+]
Interview: Saul Kornik, Founder & CEO, KENA Health and cofounder of HEALTHFORCE
HBI caught up with Saul Kornik, CEO & Founder at South-Africa-based KENA Health, at IFC’s Global Private Health Conference in Cape Town. KENA has an app which allows patients to talk directly to a nurse, doctor or mental health professional using text, voice or video. [+]
Danish outsourcing deal ‘has broad consensus’
Last week we reported that some operators had expressed concerns after the Danish government made a new outsourcing agreement with the private hospital sector. This week we hear from operators more supportive of the development, who are keen to share a different perspective. [+]
If quality comes at a price, why bother?
How much does quality matter? And how do you prioritise it when it actually costs more? This week HBI was at the IFC conference in Cape Town where there were strong views on the subject. [+]
Denmark plans hospital outsourcing hike - and tariff cuts
The Danish government has set out plans to increase its use of the private hospital sector. Those plans will see for-profit operators allowed to treat publicly-funded patients more, but also include significant tariff cuts. [+]
Covid led to massive boost in social spending - Infographic
The OECD has released new data on social spending across OECD countries, going right up to 2022. All OECD countries saw a massive increase in social spending as a result of the Covid pandemic, with social expenditure rising from around 20% to around 23% of GDP on average between 2019 and 2020. [+]
Dubai Healthcare City and Moorfield Eye Hospital Dubai to expand services
Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) celebrated its 20th anniversary at Arab Health trade show in Dubai with an agreement with Moorfield Eye Hospital Dubai to expand its services by 20%. [+]
Mayo promises to support loss-making London centre
US-based nonprofit American academic medical centre Mayo Clinic has offered "unconditional" financial support - at least until January 31, 2024 - to its London facility, despite the latter losing millions. Meanwhile, Cleveland Clinic continues to expand in the UK capital. [+]
Interview: Norberto Jannuzzi, Partner, Patria
HBI caught up with Norberto Jannuzzi, partner at Brazil based private equity group Patria Investimentos and 'Making smart investment choices' panelist at IFC’s Global Private Health Conference in Cape Town this week. [+]
Interview: James Tugendhat, CEO, HC-One
James Tughenhadt, CEO at UK nursing home group HC-One, joined it in the eye of the Covid storm. As the UK wrestles with the largest healthcare workforce strike in recent history, he sat down with HBI to discuss the importance of investing in staff, and his group's ongoing response to the staffing crisis. [+]
For-profits under fire at massive Madrid health care protest
Several hundred thousand people participated in a protest in Madrid against the regional government’s management of the health care system on Sunday, February 12. [+]
When health care is a risky business
It seems like every week, we print a story or two which reminds us that elderly care – whether residential or homecare – can be risky business. [+]
Fresenius to deconsolidate FMC
Michael Sen, the new CEO of multinational health care conglomerate Fresenius, is making preparations to deconsolidate struggling dialysis subsidiary Fresenius Medical Care (FMC). The plans fall short of full divestment and may not be radical enough to appease investors. [+]
Over a third of 2022 health care M&A deals were in services - Infographic
M&A advisory firm Ciesco has published a review of global M&A activity in 2022 across the technology, digital, media and health care sectors. In this week's infographics we look at the split across health care sub sectors by deal volume and value. [+]
Four Seasons - still for sale, still unsold
The sales process for the remaining bulk of financially troubled UK care home operator Four Seasons' assets has not been quick. HBI speaks to a market expert and to the group's property advisors to ask why the sale is taking so long. [+]
Humana’s share price plummets after allegations
Pan-Nordic Swedish care company Humana Group has seen its share price plummet 57% since the end of January, after Sweden’s health care inspectorate temporarily revoked its licence to provide personal assistance in Sweden. [+]
Competition concerns around Portman / Dentex merger
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said the proposed merger between dental groups Portman Dental Care and Dentex Healthcare raises competition issues, and will be investigated further unless suitable undertakings are received. [+]
All change at the top for mydentist and DD
Tom Riall is standing down as CEO of UK-based dental group mydentist, and will take up the role of executive chairman from April 1. His replacement has been announced. [+]
Convivo facing bankrupcy
The holding company behind German nursing home operator Convivo is filing for bankruptcy. HBI understands low occupancy rates, a shortage of skilled workers and rising energy costs are among the reasons. [+]
TFP up for sale
HBI hears UK-based pan-European fertility group TFP is up for sale, and speaks to two well-placed sources to find out more. [+]
Linde healthcare sales growth down despite great results
Global chemicals company Linde reported a 1% year-on-year drop in sales growth for healthcare, despite double-digit sales growth in all its other end markets. [+]
Norwegian hospitals struggle in the face of government outsourcing hostility
The Norwegian private hospital market is stagnating because of government unwillingness to outsource care to the private sector – despite growing waiting lists for public patients. [+]
Dubai sets out its plans for value-based health care
The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has further set out its plans to introduce a value-based model of health care across the emirate. HBI spoke to the DHA to find out more at Arab Health. [+]
Orpea strikes debt deal as CDC takes charge
After months of scandal and speculation, under-fire French elderly care group Orpea has struck a deal to restructure its debt with the help of new investors including French public sector financial institution Caisse des Dépôts (CDC). [+]
Healios expands to meet "crisis" needs
Healios, which provides digital mental health and neurodevelopmental services for young people and children in the UK, is planning major expansion in the UK in the face of unprecedented demand. [+]
Valencia: Not be as hostile to private market as feared
Spanish hospital group Imed has begun building work on its new hospital in Alicante, Valencia. But is it foolish to invest further in a region so hostile to healthcare services? HBI speaks to a Spanish consultant to find out more. [+]
Stagnant tariffs stifle innovation and could close small Italian hospitals
The head of digital transformation at Italy’s largest for-profit hospital group tells HBI stagnant NHS tariffs combined with a push towards country-wide electronic health records could force smaller players to close. [+]
UK uni hospitals unite to sell abroad
Five of the largest UK university hospitals, with a total revenue of £6.2bn, have come together to compete more effectively in the international market for hospital and medical consulting as the King’s International Consortium (KIC). But will they be able to compete with the big US academic medical centres which dominate international tertiary medicine, or with Korean and Indian players who offer lower cost and more flexible hospital management? [+]
Gap growing between public and private pay for doctors and nurses
The gap between doctors pay in the public and private sectors is rising steeply, according to international recruitment agencies. In some cases doctors are getting almost twice as much in the latter. [+]
What did we learn at Arab Health?
Four days of enjoyable mayhem milling around 3,000+ stands with 50,000+ attendees taught us a few things about the GCC health care market. [+]
Saudi boom creating billion dollar opportunities
Sources at the Arab Health exhibition confirm that the ambitious Saudi 2030 project which will see the country transfer most health care service delivery to the for-profit sector is still on. What are the implications of this? [+]
Al Borg eyes franchising and reference markets
Big Saudi lab group Al Borg plans to use franchising to grow rapidly with a consumer-led offer which includes imaging and primary care. It is also constructing two enormous reference labs in Riyad and Jeddah with the aim of seizing a market where Saudi spends billions. The group is also still eyeing a stock market listing. [+]
DomusVi robustly denies wrongdoing, while Orpea ramps up recruitment
France's third-largest elderly care operator by revenue, DomusVi, tells HBI it robustly rebuts allegations of wrongdoing made in sections of the French press this week. As rival Orpea looks to rebuild its own reputation in the face of serious allegations and fend off its creditors as its deadline looms, HBI chats to DomusVi and two French market experts to find out more. [+]
Not every NHS is created equal
As we update our hospital reports on HBI Intelligence, it becomes increasingly clear that not all NHS systems are created equal. While some systems incentivise the private sector to muck in and help out, in others, private hospitals are seen as costly alternatives to the NHS run by avaricious groups. Take the following four diverse countries: [+]
What's behind Europe's variation in excess death rates in 2022? - Infographic
In this week's infographics we look at monthly excess death rates across EU countries (plus Switzerland) throughout 2022. Surprisingly, the huge variation in excess death rates between countries is not explained by variations in the number of physicians or nurses per capita, nor in variations in health expenditure per capita, nor in variations in the proportion of private expenditure between countries. [+]
Acibadem eyes up UK opportunities
IHH-owned Turkish hospital group Acibadem has opened a contact centre in the Harley Street medical area in the UK and has an eye on market opportunities. HBI speaks to an operator and an advisor to find out more. [+]
HCA launches one number, ambulance backed acute admission service
Hospital group HCA UK has launched a 24/7 concierge and ambulance service to ease acute admissions to its four London hospitals. It says it has seen over 100% revenue growth in the last year as a result. Is it trying to provide an alternative to the crowded NHS A&E departments across the country? HBI investigates. [+]
Contrasting fortunes for Spanish and Italian hospitals reliant on public payments
Stagnant NHS tariffs are pushing Italian hospitals towards private pay, while in Spain dirt cheap PMI premiums are making the NHS more attractive. [+]
Has the RAD-x sale stalled?
The sale process for pan-European radiology group RAD-x may have stalled, with no statements on progress from any of the parties involved. A well-placed German imaging operator tells HBI that the sale will no longer go ahead, while the group itself is giving nothing away. [+]
Fleeing freelancers cause headache for Dutch elderly care groups
Nursing home employees in the Netherlands are fleeing full-time, permanent jobs in droves in pursuit of more lucrative and flexible alternatives. As operators facing stiff competition from digital freelance platforms poaching their labourforce, HBI speaks to three Dutch market experts to better understand the threat. [+]
Interview: Barry Mulholland, MBI Healthcare Technologies
Barry Mulholland is founding partner at MBI Healthcare Technologies, a UK digital health company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to find and fix data inaccuracies in hospital administration systems. He tells us how he believes AI platforms can help solve the elective care crisis. [+]
How investors can tackle emerging market workforce issues
HBI reports this week that the number of licensed UK dentists in January 2022 was down 9.2% compared to the end of 2020. The government’s solution is, unsurprisingly, to encourage dentists from emerging markets to immigrate. However, this can sometimes leave the country of origin with a brain drain – and discourage investors who might otherwise buy a hospital group in that country. [+]
UK government targets emerging markets to end dentist drought
The dentist drought which has plagued the UK market for years looks set to end, as the government prepares to welcome a flood of qualified emerging market dentists. HBI speaks to a market expert to find out more. [+]
German labs accused of lobbying to profiteer from Covid
A group of journalists from German broadcasting companies Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) and Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) and German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) has accused Germany’s private labs groups of lobbying the government in order to protect their Covid testing profits. [+]
AXA IM debuts in Spain with ESG nursing home deal
Global investment manager AXA IM Alts (the alternative investment arm of AXA IM) has joined forces with Spanish real estate investor Grupo Lar to invest in Spanish health care real estate assets, marking its launch into the Spanish health care market. [+]
Interview: Richard Storah, CFO, mydentist
HBI chats with mydentist CFO Richard Storah about the UK-based dental group’s history, its plans for 2023 and beyond, and how he sees the post-pandemic market. [+]
German reforms "could kill PE outpatient investment"
German health minister Karl Lauterbach offered a politicised Christmas present in December with an announcement he would stop “locust investors” buying up outpatient medical practices. A German VC source tells HBI this could “kill” private equity investment in German healthcare, and push innovation elsewhere. [+]
German hospital financial crisis could increase imaging / radiology outsourcing
Germany’s for-profit imaging and radiology sectors face multiple economic and regulatory threats, but could benefit from the financial crisis in the German hospital sector. HBI hears hospitals struggling to remain afloat may be more likely to outsource their imaging needs. [+]
EU approves new digi-physical primary care service in Ireland
The EU has given the green light to a joint venture between Centric Health, Ireland’s only major private primary care chain, and Irish Life Health, one of Ireland’s four private health insurers. The joint venture will provide a new digi-physical primary care service to Irish Life Health customers. [+]
French government-backed CDC could bail out Orpea - for a price
HBI hears that French public sector financial institution Caisse des Dépôts and institutional investors are willing to invest in under-fire French elderly care group Orpea - at a price. The group wants control. With time running out, three France-based analysts share their views. [+]
Public nursing home crisis could lead to privitisations
It’s been a particularly rough start to the year for public nursing homes in France. A staggering 85% of those who took part in a recent survey ended 2022 in the red and the deficit is now leading to calls for reform - and billions in additional funding from the government. HBI talks to two French market experts to find out more about what this means for the market. [+]
CVS mulls splashing $10bn+ on primary care chain
CVS, the largest pharmacy chain in the US, is reportedly considering buying listed primary care chain Oak Street Health for $10bn, as part of its strategy to gain control over the entire patient pathway. Oak Street’s shares rose 33% after the news broke on Monday, January 9, giving the company a market cap of over $7bn at the time of writing. [+]
Spanish group rubbishes rumours of sale
Multiple sources tell HBI Spanish for-profit hospital group Grupo Recoletas is up for sale, and rival HM Hospitales could follow if it hasn't already. Recoletas outright denies there is any process. [+]
End to French labs strike as agreement struck with government
The unions representing French labs groups called an end to their strike on Tuesday, January 10, after reaching an agreement with the government on tariff cuts for 2023. The agreement specifies that up to €250m of labs’ funding can be cut in 2023, but that no further cuts will be made during the year. While this deal ends the immediate problem, HBI hears it has only delayed further conflict. [+]
Sanoptis targets Spain for expansion
Sanoptis, Germany’s second largest ophthalmology group by revenue, is looking to expand in Spain, and beyond, and looking at targets to buy. [+]
Winning the workforce war: Evercare expands training facilities
Many emerging market hospital groups seem a hot ticket at the moment. They have the stability which comes with hospitals, married to far more growth than you might expect in Europe, but the workforce war is making investors think twice. HBI speaks to two experts to learn more about how in-house training is proving to be a solution to workforce woes. [+]
Pihlajalinna sells dental clinics to Hammas Hohde
Pihlajalinna, one of Finland's largest for-profit health and care providers, has agreed to sell all 16 of its dental clinics to up-and-coming pure play dental chain Hammas Hohde. [+]
Korian acquires Spanish mental health provider
French pan-European elderly care giant Korian has acquired Grupo 5, a Spanish provider of mental health services, from Spanish private equity firm Corpfin Capital, after receiving the green light from Spain’s competition authority. The acquisition is part of Korian’s strategy to develop its health care offering and to build a pan-European mental health platform. [+]
HBI’s Team Predictions for 2023
Drawing inspiration from prediction lists that make the rounds this time of year like this one from our sources, we asked some of our team here at HBI to pen down some of their thoughts on what we can expect over the next 12 months and beyond. So here are our top picks for news and trends HBI expects will colour 2023 - across hospitals, labs, elderly care, fertility, dentistry, coronavirus, digitisation and more. [+]
Eight predictions for for-profit health care in 2023
2022 was a tumultuous year for for-profit health care. The year began with a sense of things returning to a new normal, after the major disruption of the Covid pandemic throughout 2020 and 2021. But then, not even two months in, Russia invaded Ukraine, and this quickly led to an energy and economic crisis throughout Europe. For the first time in decades inflation reached double-digit figures across almost every OECD country and the era of near-zero interest rates came to an abrupt end. The second half of the year saw major worries about a looming recession and a potential debt crisis, rapidly falling investment and M&A deal volumes slowing to almost a standstill. [+]
How optimistic are US insurers and operators about 2023?
Accounting and Consultancy firm Deloitte US' industry outlook survey of health care operators and investors reveals what 71 c-suite executives of health systems and insurance with $500m+ revenue think 2023 will hold. [+]
UK warns off Turkey after deaths
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has issued a travel warning following the deaths of 22 British nationals who sought medical treatment in Turkey. The country has recently seen a tsunami of patients taking the trip due to a failing NHS in England and the promise of more affordable cosmetic surgeries. HBI speaks to three Turkey-based analysts to understand whether the safeguarding concerns are warranted and what impact the warnings could have on the medical tourism industry. [+]
Portuguese competition authority goes after labs
Portugal’s competition authority (AdC) has opened an investigation into collusion it suspects took place between several of the country’s major labs groups during the years 2016 and 2022. The accused groups include Affidea, Synlab and Unilabs subsidiaries. [+]
Morocco's largest hospital group's share price tanks after successful IPO
Africa-focused private equity firm Mediterrania Capital Partners has made a successful exit from Akdital, Morocco's largest for-profit hospital group, with the biggest IPO on the Casablanca Stock Exchange since 2008. But despite being heavily over-subscribed, the share price has since fallen by 9%. [+]
Baltic PE investor completes acquisition of Lithuanian wellness clinics
INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund, one of the largest private equity investors in the Baltic region, has completed its acquisitions of two Lithuanian assets: Wellness provider Nemunas and post-acute care treatment centre chain Eglės Sanatorija. [+]
Atrys offloads 25% of Conversia amid stock slump
Spanish based diagnostic labs group Atrys has sold 24.9% of its stake in regulatory compliance subsidiary Conversia to Arragio NW Segundo for €20m. The move comes after a disappointing year where the firm has seen its share price fall 39%. [+]
Softened Hungarian reform still risks workforce exodus
The Hungarian government has removed from its proposed new health care law the requirement that private doctors would need to work at least 20 hours a month in the public sector. However, the rest of the controversial reform remains unaltered. [+]
If technology is the answer to an elderly care crisis, why is adoption so slow?
The elderly care market is ripe for a technological revolution, but investment is lacking and adoption has been slow. Lars Dahle, founder and former CEO of healthcare tech group Dignio, candidly explains why he feels the market is frustratingly slow to take up what appear to be obvious solutions. [+]
Wide-sweeping reforms could change the face of German healthcare
German health minister Karl Lauterbach has set out detailed reforms which would change the face of German healthcare, sound the death knell for small hospitals, and signal an end to overactivity. [+]
Reflections on 2022 - deals and delays, revolts and reform
As 2022 comes to end, it seems appropriate to look back at some of the winners of the last year – and those who fared less well in a trying environment. [+]
VC interest in digital health investment remains strong
Despite economic downturn and inflationary pressure, venture capital interest in healthcare, and specifically digital health, remains strong. HBI chats with UK investment company Albion VC to find out more. [+]
Orpea rescue plan meets opposition
Under-fire French elderly care operator Orpea could have a shareholder revolt on its hands. Unhappy with plans for massive share price dilution as the group looks to meet its debts, a group of disillusioned shareholders has suggested an alternative and is looking for support. HBI speaks to two French health care experts to learn more. [+]
PPP and PMI opportunities in Hungarian healthcare in 2023
2023 may be a big year for Hungarian private healthcare as finance minister Mihály Varga has promised PMI and private healthcare providers they will have “a lot to do” in the coming year. [+]
Out of pocket expenditure compared across Europe - Infographic
Here we look at household out-of-pocket payments - direct payments for healthcare from a household's primary income or savings, where the user pays at the time of purchase. The figures on this chart are displayed as a percentage share of the total current health expenditure for the countries listed. [+]
Eugin enters Portugal
Spain-based fertility provider Eugin Group, part of Germany-based hospital group Fresenius Helios, is entering the Portuguese market. [+]
Amanat to merge Sukoon and CMRC
Dubai-based listed health care and education investment firm Amanat Holdings is merging two of its post acute care providers in the GCC region, Sukoon and Cambridge Medical and Rehabilitation Center (CMRC), in the latest move in its plan to build the region's largest post-acute care platform. [+]
Spire acquires Doctors Clinic Group and expands primary care footprint
Spire, the UK’s largest for-profit hospital group, has acquired Doctors Clinic Group, one of the UK’s only pure play private-pay primary care chains. The acquisition is part of Spire’s plan to build up its primary care offering. [+]
Blackstone ‘out of the running’ for Care Hospital deal
Multiple news outlets say private equity giant Blackstone is the sole remaining bidder for Indian hospital chain Care Hospital. Sources close to the company tell a different story. [+]
Pressure grows to restrict investment in German health care
Pressure is growing for a change in German law restricting who can invest in healthcare. If enacted, it could effectively see some outpatient operators “banned”, and restrict who can do telehealth. Is such a development likely? HBI speaks to a trio of German healthcare experts to find out more. [+]
Care Fertility expands international footprint to Spain and US
UK-based group Care Fertility continues to expand its international footprint following its acquisition by PE firm Nordic Capital in February, with acquisitions in Spain and the US. HBI chats to Alfa Chan, partner at Nordic, to find out more. [+]
Middle Eastern hospital stocks outperformed European counterparts in 2022 - Infographic
In this week's infographic we compare the stocks of the five largest (in terms of revenue) listed hospital groups in the Middle East with the five largest listed hospital groups operating in Europe. [+]
At-home testing can help with prevention
In an ideal world you wouldn’t have to pay for preventive care measures such as at-home tests, but with increasing pressure on healthcare services and in particular a lack of funding for preventative measures, increasing numbers of people are doing exactly that. [+]
Tiny tariff rises will see waiting lists soar in France
French hospitals are in crisis as statutory health insurer (SHI) tariffs have not risen enough to meet rampant inflation. HBI speaks to industry sources to find out the risk to hospitals if this continues. [+]
Hungarian reforms risk mass doctor exodus to private pay, and abroad
Around 4,500 Hungarian doctors have threatened to resign en masse, after the government announced controversial reforms which include an option to reduce wages based on vague performance metrics. HBI hears this could drive large numbers into Hungary’s growing private sector. [+]
TVM Capital Healthcare raising outpatient SE Asia fund
Dubai and Singapore based private equity firm TVM Capital Healthcare is raising a new emerging market fund which will invest in non-hospital health care assets in the South East Asia region. The fund has a target of $200m and is expected to make its first investment in the first half of 2023. [+]
Health care companies must learn to deal with cyber attacks
Cyber attacks on health care are on the rise, and operators focused on preventing attacks need to think more about developing resilience to ensure critical care is protected. HBI speaks to Trevor Dearing, director of critical infrastructure solutions at cybersecurity firm Illumio, to find out more. [+]
BMA targets ‘unregulated’ at-home diagnostic tests
In October the British Medical Association (BMA) reported it had found cases of private labs groups offering direct-to-consumer at-home diagnostic tests with ‘misleading’ claims about their accuracy, claiming some of these tests are unregulated. The NHS says such tests risk overburdening GPs with patients who have received misleading information. HBI speaks to Kevin Dryhurst, CEO of private labs operator DAM Health, who argues privately provided direct-to-consumer tests have a role to play in providing some of the preventive care which the NHS is failing to deliver. [+]
Quick departures always raise questions
When a CEO steps down, journalists raise half an eyebrow. Is this a planned departure, in the works for months, with a readymade successor ready to step out of the wings? Or does it have a whiff of a hastily scrabbled jump (with, or without a push) suggesting possible malcontent, ill will, a clash of styles, or something else? [+]
UK task force boost to NHS outsourcing
The UK government has set up a task force to look at increasing NHS outsourcing to the private sector, as part of its plan to increase capacity and bring down the elective care waiting list. Could this provide a boost for for-profit providers, and will it tempt them to do more NHS work? [+]
FMC CEO leaves after just two months in post
Global renal disease specialist Fresenius Medical Care has parted ways with its new CEO just months after announcing her appointment, and scarcely two months after she took up her post. HBI looks at the surprisingly quick turnaround and tries to work out what happened. [+]
Due diligence begins for KIMS sale
KIMS Health, one of the largest hospital groups in South India, is up for sale. Due diligence has begun after a first round of bids which HBI understands included India's fourth largest operator Max Healthcare, as well as big international PE investors Blackstone and CVC Capital. Binding bids are expected next month. [+]
How do private providers view UK opportunities? - Infographic
How confident are UK providers about different payor models? The Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN) has released its third annual industry barometer, showing how independent providers view opportunities in the UK. [+]
Opportunity for Spanish REITs to cash in on elderly care
Spain is facing a serious shortage of nursing home beds, and appetite to invest in Spanish healthcare property is on the rise. With REITS looking to plug the long-term housing gap, HBI speaks to Alberto Fernandez of Madrid-based REIT Healthcare Activos to find out more. [+]
Chris Toth, CEO, Varian, a Siemens Healthineers Company
In April last year, medical device giant Siemens Healthineers acquired Varian Medical Systems in one of the largest all cash MedTech transactions in history. HBI catches up with Varian CEO Chris Toth to find out more about the deal, and Varian’s plans for the future. [+]
Ribera Salud buys big in Murcia
Spanish hospital group Ribera Salud has acquired the largest private healthcare group in Murcia, consolidating its presence in the region. [+]
New regulations target Turkish health tourism agencies
Turkey is taking steps to regulate its health tourism sector. Agencies acting as a go-between for tourists and health tourism operators will need to submit two separate licences to two ministries. [+]
Viamed chooses Synlab to run in-house labs
Spanish hospital group Viamed has chosen Synlab to run its in-house diagnostic labs in many of its hospitals, meaning less outsourced business for Eurofins. [+]
Pressure piles on Dutch government to act as elderly care groups risk bankruptcy
Elderly care in the Netherlands is at breaking point - fending off high costs, low margins, and perilously poor staff retention. HBI speaks to a market expert who is confident the government will act to stave off bankruptcies. [+]
Don't believe the hype?
Why bother with telehealth? For all the huge sums raised, the high valuations and in some cases the spectacular IPOs, it's actually quite rare for them to make any money. Or latterly, for them to hold their share prices. Teladoc doubled its revenue, and Babylon quadrupled its revenue in 2021 - yet both have seen share prices drop 90% over the last two years. What gives? [+]
Affidea subsidiary IMI denies cartel involvement, whilst Unilabs accepts fine
Portugal’s competition authority has accused the country's four largest teleradiology groups of involvement in a cartel for public hospital teleradiology tenders during the years 2015 to 2018. The companies involved include Unilabs subsidiary Dr. Campos Costa, which has admitted involvement, and Affidea subsidiary Imagens Médicas Integradas, which denies involvement. [+]
UK homecare group Optimo Care expanding
UK homecare provider Optimo Care is pursuing an aggressive growth strategy through acquisitions. It has just bought Colchester-based complex care provider My Life Choice. This follows the acquisition of Mayday Homecare, a provider of homecare services in Bolton and Bury, in August. The company plans to make several more acquisitions in 2023. [+]
Interview: Jalil Allabadi, co-founder of MENA's biggest digital health platform Altibbi
MENA-based Altibbi has come a long way from its humble 2008 beginnings as a printed medical dictionary. HBI chats with co-founder Jalil Allabadi about the region’s largest digital health platform. [+]
Spanish hospitals bringing labs in-house
Major Spanish hospital groups are bringing their diagnostic labs testing in-house, in a trend which stands in direct contrast to what is happening in other countries. [+]
Penta buys one for the future in Poland
Czech-Slovak investment group Penta has acquired Polish hospital group Grupa Nowy Szpital (GNS). With this, Penta is making further inroads into the tricky Polish market. HBI asks, given the state of the Polish market, is now really the right time to buy? [+]
Spanish PMI premiums set to soar
Spanish PMI is set for a massive price hike, as hospitals facing increased demand struggle to make ends meet on current insurer tariffs. [+]
MidEuropa buys Optegra
UK, Czechia and Poland-based ophthalmology company Optegra has found a buyer - PE firm MidEuropa has reached a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake while management and current owners H2 will retain minority stakes. [+]
Interview: Ryan Richards, Knight Frank
UK property consultancy and estate agency Knight Frank has released its annual report on the state of the UK’s elderly care sector. We speak to lead author, senior analyst Ryan Richards, about the sector’s recovery from Covid, the impact of the cost of living crisis and inflation, and reputational risk. [+]
Orpea pledges to pay in full as restructuring rumours continue
French elderly care giant Orpea continues to hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Over the last week, dozens of facilities were raided by the French authorities, talk continues to be rife about restructuring and potential exits, and contrary to previous assertions HBI understands the group now intends to pay back the full €56m owed to the state. [+]
Time to get heretical?
This week saw the leaking of minutes from a September meeting of senior NHS Scotland managers in which a serious suggestion was made that the founding principle of free at the point of use care for all be abandoned. [+]
Bill Gates-backed Evercare sells Kenyan hospital stake
US PE Evercare Health Fund has sold its 1bn Kenyan shilling (€7.8m) stake in the Metropolitan and Ladnan hospitals in Nairobi. The PE fund is owned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). [+]
Simplyhealth launches £60m VC fund undaunted by poor economy
Insurance plan group Simplyhealth have launched a £60m VC fund for early-stage healthcare start-ups in the UK. Its CEO says his firm is well placed to invest sensibly due its contacts, and the current state of the economy. [+]
Amazon launches telehealth platform
Amazon has launched its own telehealth platform, Amazon Clinic, on which patients can connect with health care providers in their area and book appointments. [+]
Economy makes Fresenius breakup unlikely
Speculation persists over the break-up of bloated conglomerate Fresenius by new CEO Michael Sen, but HBI hears that looks increasingly unlikely given the current economic climate. So, what are Sen's options? HBI talks to a well-placed investment banker to find out more. [+]
Scanmed buys Ars Medical
Polish multi-specialty healthcare company Scanmed has bought Polish oncology firm Ars Medical. [+]
Babylon CEO admits to stock market disaster
Ali Parsa, the charismatic healthcare entrepreneur who founded digital health company Babylon Health, has branded the company’s stock market performance an “unbelievable, unmitigated disaster” in an interview with the Financial Times. [+]
Scotland NHS bosses discuss making wealthy pay for care
Scotland NHS bosses have suggested making some wealthy patients pay for care, in what would amount to an abandonment of the NHS’ core founding principle of free at the point of use care for all. [+]
Optegra sale on hold
HBI understands from multiple sources that the sale of UK-based ophthalmology group Optegra is on hold. [+]
Is Orpea's bold plan enough to save the business?
Plagued with well documented allegations and investigations, and saddled with €9bn+ debt, on Tuesday Orpea presented its plan for recovery to the creditors who last month gave it just four months to clean up its finances. Has it done enough? We speak to a range of market experts to find out if it can weather the storm. [+]
The current state of interest and inflation rates - Infographic
The current macroeconomic environment is slowing down health care services M&A, as inflation eats into margins and debt financing dries up. In this week's infographic we look at the state of interest rates and inflation rates in major economies across the world. [+]
Going somewhere new? Go digital
There's an air of confusion around digitalisation / telehealth. Everyone knows it is important. But as a standalone prospect, it takes time to make a profit. Babylon's stock crash, and Kry's withdrawal from Germany and continuing layoffs do little to dispel digital doom, and many patients insist on a hybrid model of care. But for healthcare companies looking to expand to pastures new, going digital can offer a cheap way to test the water. [+]
Scottish dental group "up for sale"
HBI hears that Scottish dental group Clyde Munro is about to go up for sale, and speaks to an operator and an investor source to find out more. [+]
Affidea expands Spanish offering with further acquisition in Madrid
European imaging and cancer treatment provider Affidea has acquired outpatient specialist Clínica Algete in Madrid. [+]
EDG sale "in early stages"
HBI understands that the sale of pan-European and dentist-led European Dental Group (EDG) has begun, and is in its very early stages. [+]
Portugal's heavy hitting hospitals look to expand
As the Portuguese NHS continues to flounder, hospital groups such as Luz Saude and CUF are looking to expand their coverage into untouched regions in the country. [+]
Macroeconomic conditions dampening debt financing but not equity financing
Macroeconomic conditions are not causing deal flow to halt completely. HBI hears that health care M&A deals financed entirely with equity are still taking place, whilst a dearth of willing lenders and rising interest rates are making debt financing - and therefore larger deals - increasingly unfeasible. [+]
UK teleradiology booming due to NHS backlog
The UK’s teleradiology sector will see continued sustained growth over the next decade as the NHS attempts to deal with its elective care backlog and outsources more and more radiology work. [+]
Helios makes digital-only presence in Kenya and Colombia
Curalie, the digital health subsidiary of German hospital group Fresenius Helios, has launched new digital-only operations in Kenya and Colombia. Experts tell HBI this is a good way for Helios to access new markets, but likely won’t lead to a hospital boom any time soon. [+]
How do you know when it's time to go?
The problem with being the founder (and often also CEO) of a company is that it’s difficult to know if you're doing a good job. Or - even if you are - when it might be the right time to make way for someone with fresh ideas. How do you know when it’s time to step down? And how does it feel when you do? [+]
Medanta's parent IPOs
Global Health Ltd, the parent company of Indian hospital chain Medanta, closed subscription for its IPO on Monday, with a valuation of 22,060m rupees ($274m). The share price has been set at 319 Rs ($3.96). The IPO will consist of new shares worth 5,000m Rs ($62m), and an offer-for-sale of up to 50.8m Rs ($0.63m) worth of shares. [+]
€8bn to save German hospitals, but no relief for labs
The German government has pledged an €8bn support package to help hospitals and care homes tackle inflation and rising energy costs, and promised to end Germany's flat-rate DRG tariff system, but other parts of the the country's under pressure health care sector - particularly smaller lab groups - are struggling to stay afloat. [+]
Walgreens pharmacy splashes on $9bn outpatient merger
Walgreens, the US’ second largest pharmacy chain, is expanding its outpatient network with the acquisition of urgent and primary care chain Summit Health, for $9bn. Evernorth, a subsidiary of Cigna, one of the US’ largest health insurers, is also taking a stake in the merger, effectively creating a major new integrated payor-provider with a national footprint. HBI speaks to three experts on the US health system to understand the implications. [+]
Portuguese government finds renewed appreciation of PPPs as Ribera wins contract
Spanish hospital group Ribera Salud has won an eight year, €800m contract to manage the Cascais Hospital in Portugal in a private public partnership (PPP). HBI understands it may have been the only bidder in a climate where PPPs look to have been falling out of fashion. [+]
Interview: Lars Dahle, founder, Dignio
Having spent the last 10 years of his life building a multi-million revenue company, Dignio founder Lars Dahle has found the last week since he stepped down as CEO rather quiet. HBI catches up with him in reflective mood, as he chats about how he built the business up, and how he really feels about leaving his company's future in others' hands. [+]
Inflation hits margins for Medicover and Terveystalo
Poor results have seen big share price drops at two of the sexier listed health care service groups. Medicover, the pan-emerging markets outpatient operator, saw shares fall 11% on Q3 figures showing a net loss of €18.4m and Terveystalo, the Finnish and Swedish outpatient group, fell 23% to €6.23 after revealing a net loss of €19.6m. Since the start of the year both have seen their share prices halve or worse. Inflation, labour shortages, Ukraine and a big shift in how health care is delivered post-Covid are behind the poor results. [+]
Deals postponed and at risk
Deal flow is slowing rapidly. HBI hears CVC has postponed the sale of Finland-based occupational and outpatient specialist Mehilainen. The Trilantic sale of Berlin-based mental health specialist Oberberg, and the Nordic sale of European Dental Group are both at risk too. But we hear that the sales of ophtha group Optegra and diagnostic group Rad-X are likely to proceed. [+]
The UK care home sector - Infographic
Following our brand new intelligence report on the UK elderly care sector, we look at the size of the for-profit and public/non-profit sectors. [+]
Care Hospitals target of $1bn+ bidding war
Indian hospital chain Care Hospitals is the subject of a US$1bn+ bidding war between PE firm KKR, Singaporean state holding company Temasek Holdings, and Indian hospital chain Max Healthcare. [+]
Not that safe
Back in June, Hedley Goldberg, who heads up health care services at Rothschild, told HBI 2022 attendees that healthcare investors shouldn't be too worried about the macroeconomic outlook. Yes, inflation was higher than it had been in decades. Yes, a recession was undoubtedly on the horizon. But health care services would be resilient and able to pass on cost increases to payors. But now multiple listed groups are reporting net losses for Q3 and many investors are getting cold feet. Is this just a temporary blip or a sign of worst to come? [+]
French labs take collective action to fight sector cuts
French labs groups have stopped sharing Covid test results with the government in protest against the €250m proposed annual cuts to the sector. The president of national lab syndicate Les Biologistes Médicaux says lab groups are preparing to go on strike in mid-November, which would mean all labs being entirely shut down, if their demands are not met. [+]
Sub-scale NHS can't deal with private insurers
NHS England private patient units are too small to deal with private medical insurers. That is likely to be behind recent friction between NHS entities and private medical insurer Bupa. [+]
Kry cuts another 10% of workforce and withdraws from Germany
Kry, the Swedish-based multinational telehealth and primary care unicorn, is laying off 10% of its 3,000-strong workforce, marking the second time it has done so this year. It is also pulling out of Germany as it tries to move faster towards profitability. Meanwhile peer Babylon has seen its value fall 20-fold. [+]
Interview: AXA reinsurance CEO on healthcare's "iPhone moment"
Unlike the majority of his peers, Laurent Pochat-Cottilloux, the CEO of AXA Life and Health Reinsurance, isn’t convinced insurance will lead the charge towards prevention. [+]
Foreign doctors more vulnerable to overworking and abuse
African and Asian doctors have been brought to the UK from “red list” countries, from which “active recruitment” is banned, and forced to work illegal hours, according to reports. [+]
Cancer vaccine could lead to a diagnostic, laboratory & drug producer revenue explosion
Work being done to create viable cancer vaccines will lead to huge opportunities for diagnostic, laboratory & manufacturing firms, HBI hears. [+]
Polish healthcare normalising after refugee influx
Both for-profit and public healthcare operators in Poland have been struggling to cope after a large influx of Ukrainian refugees. HBI speaks to contacts in Poland to find out more. [+]
Orpea forced to take drastic steps to fix finances
Orpea has four months to clean up its finances and reach a new agreement with its creditors on debt restructuring. The conciliation period which it has agreed with the courts has bought it time to consider its options in the face of rising costs and interest rates, and a cooling real estate market. The main proposal under discussion is a debt/equity swap which would result in a drastic dilution of existing shares, but it is hard to see how the numbers could add up. HBI hears from analysts about the tough decisions facing the group. [+]
Optegra for sale
UK-based ophthalmology group Optegra is for sale, with three groups through to the second round. HBI speaks with three sources to find out more. [+]
Creditors face Hobson’s choice when groups face default
French elderly care giant Orpea has been given four months to fix its finances and placate its creditors. Could it learn from GCC hospital group NMC’s similar experience? [+]
Interview: Paresh Patel, CEO, OCL Vision
HBI chats with Paresh Patel, the new CEO of UK-based OCL Vision and former MD of UK, Czechia and Poland-based ophthalmology platform Optegra, about his new role, and the ophthalmology market in general. [+]
Top 10 EMEA labs groups made almost €8bn extra revenue in 2021
It's no secret that the diagnostic labs sector benefitted immensely from testing during the Covid pandemic. But now that 2021 revenue figures are available for many of the largest groups, it is clear that the scale of the testing windfall has been larger than anyone in the sector imagined. [+]
Swiss Medical Network subsidiary to become country's first payor-provider
Hôpital du Jura Bernois, a subsidiary of Switzerland's second largest hospital group Swiss Medical Network, is to become the country's first integrated payor-provider, after health insurer Visana bought a 32.4% stake. From January 1 2023 it will offer insurance alongside its hospital and outpatient services to inhabitants of the Jura Arc region. [+]
Four Seasons facing breakup, final portfolio sales may not conclude until H2 2023
HBI understands a portfolio of homes owned by troubled UK elderly care operator Four Seasons will likely have to be split for sale, and some of these homes are not expected to sell until H2 2023. [+]
PMI premiums set to spike as medical costs soar
PMI premiums are set to spike in 2023 according to a new report. HBI speaks to contacts around Europe to find out more. [+]
Focus, Agility and the importance of No
How do you best build innovation and work with tech start-ups inside a university hospital? UK hospital Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT), took the unusual step of appointing as Director of Innovation & Strategic Industry Partnerships , Nadine Hachach-Haram, a physician who is also a successful entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of Proximie. We look at how GSTT has now developed its own innovation accelerator with a linked venture capital fund and at its overall strategy to encourage innovation. [+]
Is Elliott stake a step towards Helios breakoff?
American investment management firm Elliott has taken a minority stake in Fresenius Helios, the largest hospital group in Europe by revenue. The move prompts fresh questions about Fresenius' new CEO's intentions for the company. [+]
More bang for the buck could lead to US investor influx
Issues with the plummeting pound – slightly aided by the departure of the UK’s shortest-lived prime minister – and the fall of the euro against the dollar mean it’s a great (cheap) time for our north American cousins to holiday in Europe. But it’s also a great time to buy into healthcare services. [+]
Buurtzorg expands into nursing homes
Netherlands-based medicalised homecare specialist Buurtzorg is expanding into nursing homes. HBI catches up with a Dutch healthcare expert to find out more. [+]
The price of keeping up with care costs? - Infographic
Care is getting more expensive. Insurance premiums are set to go up 10% internationally next year. People are living longer, more sedentary lives, and these are unsurprisingly characterised by an increase in chronic diseases. You might expect that as a population ages healthcare spending as a percentage of GDP will have to go up. There are, after all, surely limits on the efficiencies which can be made. This, it seems, is not necessarily the case. [+]
Attendo Stockholm contract will not be extended after court convictions
Pan-Nordic listed care provider Attendo has lost one of its contracts with the City of Stockholm to provide nursing home care. This follows the conviction of two Attendo employees earlier this week for violating whistleblower protection law when they reprimanded a carer employee for speaking to the press about the state of care in one of its homes during the height of the first Covid wave in 2020. [+]
Dollar Investors are ready and waiting to buy cheap European healthcare firms
The slump in healthcare listed stocks and downward valuations of private businesses are encouraging potential buyers to examine enticing European healthcare enterprises. [+]
Opportunities abound as Saudi Arabia plans $13bn private healthcare expansion
Saudi Arabia’s health ministry is making $13bn (SR48bn) plans for 100 healthcare projects that will involve the private sector. The public-private partnership proposals include constructing two new medical cities, a project to provide 900 beds for medical rehabilitation, and long-term care services, and it looks like foreign investors are actively being courted. [+]
Transform Hospital Group closes clinics and lays of staff to secure its hospitals' future
Transform Hospital Group, a financially troubled UK-based medical aesthetics, cosmetic and weight loss surgery-focussed business, has been forced to lay off staff to secure its future. [+]
CBPE Capital buys rapidly expanding UK varicose vein treatment chain
Dermatology is hot right now. UK private equity firm Palatine has sold its stake in Veincentre, the UK’s largest chain varicose vein treatment provider, to CBPE Capital (another UK private equity group). This follows the acquisition of Dutch dermatology group Mauritskliniek last month. [+]
Interview: Dr. Charles Armitage, CEO and founder, Florence
Dr. Charles Armitage used to be a surgeon. Working for the NHS in various parts of the country he experienced first-hand the severe workforce issues the health sector faces. Six years ago he started a digital health company called Florence with co-founder Dan Blake to help solve the problem. [+]
FutureLife enters Spain and Italy
FutureLife, the Czech Republic-based fertility company, has entered Spain and Italy with its latest acquisition. Owned by PE companies CVC and Hartenberg holding, the group has acquired Institut Marquès (IM), an assisted reproduction company based in Barcelona with clinics in Spain and Italy. [+]
M&A health care deals slow on debt fears
After a heady 2021, activity in European health care M&A is slowing down. Big ticket auctions have been withdrawn and processes are often run more cautiously as dual track, rather than general auctions. But underlying demand for health care assets is strong, with PE sitting on trillions of recently raised dry powder. Listed groups look cheap. HBI catches up with bankers from across Europe for their take. [+]
To build or to buy?
To build or to buy? When looking to build trust in the telehealth sector, Amazon decided building its own company with Amazon Care wasn’t worth it. So, it closed Amazon Care and bid on AI/big data player Signify Health instead. [+]
CVC to buy back Quironsalud?
Rumours circulate that Quironsalud, the Spanish hospital subsidiary of hospital chain Fresenius Helios, may be sold to private equity firm CVC or KKR, HBI hears. But others say the new CEO of Helios' parent, Fresenius SE, is unlikely to go for the strategy and suggest the dialysis arm could be put on the block instead. [+]
UK CMA gives Rodericks-Dental Partners merger green light
The CMA (the UK's competition authority) has given the green light to the merger between NHS-focussed UK dental group Rodericks Dental and rival Dental Partners. [+]
Insurers moving from payors to players
Should insurers be payors or players? Should they move from treatment to prevention? How do insurers get better data? These three questions were top of the agenda at the Global Health Insurance Conference in Prague last week. [+]
Insurees health concerns, by age - Infographic
At the recent healthcare insurance conference in Prague, HBI heard about insurees' concerns by age demographic - and how insurers were striving to address them. [+]
French labs pushing back against €250m cut
French labs are presenting a united front pushing back against the €250m worth of annual cuts proposed in the 2023 Social Security Budget. All of the sector’s representative bodies have voiced outrage, and a joint letter from the directors of four labs syndicates sent to l’Assurance Maladie’s (CNAM) general director demands tariffs be indexed to inflation saying the sector cannot support further cuts. [+]
Opportunities in Irish dentistry
The dental market in Ireland may not be the largest in Europe, but it is largely (80% plus) a private market with very little consolidation. So why haven't we seen more consolidation? HBI speaks to a market expert to find out more. [+]
Interview: Frederic Llordachs, CEO, and Carmen Pauline Rios Benton, COO, Doctomatic
HBI catches up with co-founders Frederic Llordachs, CEO, and Carmen Pauline Rios Benton, COO, of new chronic disease monitoring group Doctomatic, a remote patient monitoring solution for chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, COPD and heart failure, which uses AI to help detect problems at an early stage. [+]
Don't argue with us, or we'll stop sending you patients
Speaking to elderly care providers has become an increasingly depressing way for HBI journalists to spend their time - with a few notable and perennially optimistic exceptions. [+]
Germany only big 5 country to spend more on outpatient than hospitals - Infographic
Germany's health minister Karl Lauterbach is planning to shift as much as 25% of care which is currently done on an inpatient basis to outpatient, in the country's biggest health care reform in 20 years. But Germany is already unique amongst the big 5 in that it already spends slightly more on ambulatory care than inpatient care. [+]
Germany to reduce inpatients by a quarter, as hospitals face insolvency
German health minister Karl Lauterbach is to implement the country's first major health care reform in 20 years. From 2023, hospitals will aim to reduce spiralling costs and remedy the workforce crisis by shifting as much as 25% of their inpatient activity to outpatient and, eventually, closing some clinics and hospitals. HBI chats to German sources to find out more about what this means for for-profit operators. [+]
UK nursing homes: "We pushed back on fees, they stopped sending patients"
Are local authorities paying the right rate to the for-profit operators looking after our elderly - and what happens when operators push back and demand more? HBI catches up with Sanjeev Kanoria, the outspoken chairman and co-founder at private care provider Advinia Health Care. [+]
AcalisCare acquires in Scotland with plans to be one of UK’s largest operators
Scottish nursing home group Balhousie has been acquired by Belgium-based elderly care group AcalisCare. HBI speaks to Lieven Baten, partner at AcalisCare and the new chairman at Balhousie, about plans for growth inside and outside of Scotland. [+]
Saudi healthcare insurance boom
According to the Saudi Central Bank, gross healthcare insurance premiums in Saudi Arabia rose 32% to SR25.1 billion (€6.78 bn) between 2017 and 2021. Healthcare now totals as much as 59.7% of total insurance in the rich oil state. [+]
Gulf PMI gets lift from Qatar’s World Cup
Ahead of the World Cup in November the Qatari authorities have issued a proclamation demanding that some 1.5 million Gulf and other international football fans must have healthcare insurance of at least 50 Qatari riyals (€12). This is a boon to Gulf and other international private medical insurers (PMI) of at least QR75 million (€18m). [+]
Burjeel sets price for "29x over-subscribed" IPO
Major UAE hospital group Burjeel Holdings has chosen to set its IPO price at just 2 dirhams ($0.54) per share. It plans to sell 11% of its share capital (550.7 million shares) when it goes public on Monday, October 10, which will raise 1.1bn dirhams ($299.51m) at this price. [+]
Spanish "health robot" telehealth start-up to go international
Spanish digital health start-up Homedoctor is looking to go international. The company is reportedly looking for an equity investor to fuel expansion, with the aid of professional services firm KPMG. [+]
More funding for health and care but less for labs in French Social Security budget
The French government is to increase allocated funding for the health and care sectors overall in 2023, including hiring an additional 3,000 carers and investing €370m into a shift to care at home, but decrease funding for labs by €250m, as detailed in the 2023 Social Security budget, published on Monday September 26. [+]
Orpea CEO blames “unethical” former managers following €269m H1 loss
Laurent Guillot, CEO of French multinational elderly care group Orpea, has partially blamed the company's net loss of €269m in the first half of 2022 on "unethical behaviour" by the company’s former managers. But the company's finances appear to be in better shape than the headline figure suggests. [+]
Three key takeaways from the Pan-European Procurement Summit
A common refrain at the Pan-European Procurement Summit in Brussels was that price and quality are the two biggest concerns for procurement professionals. HBI heard plenty on price – especially price transparency – but rather than quality, attention turned to the growing concerns of sustainability and digitalisation. [+]
Indian M&A roundup
Indian health care is seeing a flurry of activity. Evercare-owned Care Hospitals is reportedly up for sale in India, while IHH Healthcare Bhd has expressed renewed interest in India after the Indian Supreme Court passed judgement in relation to its contentious dealings with Fortis. Meantime, the largest shareholder in India's second largest eye hospital has sold its stake. [+]
Is private equity becoming uninterested in healthcare services?
As a sector more resilient than most to recession, it’s no surprise that private equity and others are interested in getting involved in healthcare services. It also gives a great opportunity for a diversified portfolio as healthcare provision covers such a wide base - pharma, medtech, life sciences and services. And yet despite the economic environment and the relative safety and benefits, it seems that private equity may not be as interested as they could be. [+]
Infographic: The state of private pay in the UK - Infographic
The UK's Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) has released its private market update for September 2022, showing the state of private pay in the UK. As is expected with NHS backlogs at a record high, private healthcare is performing very well compared to pre-pandemic levels. [+]
French doctors want tough measures to stop patients missing booked appointments
French doctors calling for tougher measures for patients who miss appointments - including online where patients are often booking on multiple platforms and keeping only the earliest appointment they get - and sometimes not even that. [+]
Interview: Dieter Zocholl, founder and CEO of XMED iQ
Dieter Zocholl is a man on a mission. On the first day of the healthcare procurement conference in Brussels, the founder and CEO of procurement specialist XMED iQ argued passionately for more price transparency in the procurement of healthcare devices. But while the host of the recent Procurement Conference in Brussels poked gentle, good-natured fun at him, Zocholl presented an interesting problem. [+]
ESG now ‘essential’ for health care companies
Last month we discussed whether ESG has the ability to transform capitalism, or whether it amounts to little more than a corporate PR exercise. Two people who may be able to help us answer this question in relation to health care specifically are Guyon Stams, director in the healthcare sector team, and Joost van Dun, director of sustainable finance, at Dutch multinational bank ING, both of whom focus on supporting health care clients align their ESG strategies with their financing. Stams tells us ESG has become an ‘essential’ consideration for health care companies. [+]
Meloni's promise to boost Italian healthcare could benefit for-profits
Italy's new right-wing alliance under Giorgia Meloni promises direct and indirect benefits for Italy’s private healthcare businesses. [+]
Dutch labs consolidation hampered by hospital reluctance to outsource
Last month we reported that there is a growth opportunity for bigger and more efficient for-profits in the largely unconsolidated Dutch labs market, as Covid testing winds down and financial pressures return to the sector. But a consultant who has previously run a Dutch hospital lab tells us a major barrier remains: a stubborn reluctance within hospitals to outsource. [+]
Is the PE tap being turned off?
Economic uncertainty could well mean a slowdown in M&A from private equity houses. Could we be facing a repeat of the dark days of 2009, and a halving of deal flow, or is there light on the horizon? HBI has been chatting with consultants and advisers over the last couple of weeks to see if there is a consensus. [+]
Is Bridgepoint looking to sell Diaverum in Q4?
Swedish pan-European dialysis group Diaverum could be up for sale in Q4. Reports suggest PE owner Bridgepoint has reportedly appointed American investment bank Citi to review strategic options for a sale. [+]
Vitaldent-led new Spanish dental group looking abroad for expansion
There's a new major player on the Spanish dental scene - by name at least - and it looks set to take the number one spot by revenue. Vitaldent is combining with three other players and rebranding as Donte Group according to Javier Martin, the CEO of the new holding company and former Vitaldent CEO. [+]
Nordic PMI grows in tandem with waiting lists
Private medical insurance (PMI) plans are on the increase in the Nordic nations, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. Longer public health waiting times and incentives in employment contracts are the main reasons. HBI investigates. [+]
Interview: Julien Samson, CEO, Groupe Maisons de Famille
Julien Samson, recently appointed CEO of the European care homes group Groupe Maisons de Famille, has some creative ideas on how to manage the business. In the face of industry-wide criticism and concern following hard-hitting headlines about rivals Orpea and Korian, he still believes the industry can find ways to cope with the persistent pandemic, the energy crisis and inflationary recession. [+]
Blog: Price and quality top considerations for procurers, but when will sustainability come in?
When procurers look at supplies, they focus overwhelmingly on quality and price. However, many at the recent Healthcare Procurement Summit in Brussels argued that these can’t be the only two benchmarks – sustainability has to come into a much greater focus too. [+]
Tariff cuts to return to French labs sector
The French statutory insurer is reported to be seeking tariff cuts for the labs sector which could exceed €200m. Any cuts will be announced on Monday, September 26, in the government’s Social Security Budget. [+]
First round bids for Four Seasons’ 110 care homes due by "early autumn"
HBI catches up with Christie & Co, the business broker in charge of the sale of UK-based Four Seasons’ 110 care home, to find out more about the timescale of and interest in the sale. [+]
Estonian waiting lists likely to skyrocket in recession
Despite inflation rates of over 20%, Estonia's national health service has not suffered significant ill effects, HBI hears, at least not yet. Looming recession could, however, result in waiting lists as bad as those currently seen in the UK. HBI speaks to a local expert to find out more. [+]
Hungary’s private provider revenues surge - yet losses mount for many
The fast growing for-profit healthcare market in Hungary is scaling new peaks. HBI hears it could be worth as much as HUF 450-500bn (in excess of €1bn), and talks to a local operator to find out more about why revenue growth is not always translating into profit. [+]
Could the PE tap be turned off?
Changing macroeconomic conditions - specifically a reduction in the availability of credit and increases in interest rates, could well impact M&A activity over the coming months. [+]
Infographic: The challenges elderly care faces
With an aging population, it's no surprise that elderly care has quite the challenge on the horizon in order to meet patient needs. [+]
New Swedish government’s health policies could benefit for profit providers
A right-wing coalition government is still to be formed in Sweden, under probable prime minister Ulf Kristersson. It is expected to encourage for-profit health providers to help the public system reduce waiting lists. Multi billions of extra funding will also be allocated to the national, regional and local authorities to bolster the system. [+]
EDG for sale, while Dentex sells
As exclusively predicted by HBI at the start of August, pan-European and dentist-led European Dental Group (EDG) is up for sale. [+]
Orpea share price falls further in wake of new allegations and H1 preliminary results
French multinational elderly care group Orpea’s share price fell further on Wednesday, September 14, to its lowest level in years following new accusations of resident mistreatment, this time in Austria, and the company released disappointing H1 results. [+]
KKR-Ramsay deal looks to be off (again)
The seemingly ill-fated takeover of Australia-based international hospital group Ramsay seems to fallen apart after the consortium led by PE firm KKR refused to amend its second offer which Ramsay called “meaningfully inferior”. [+]
NMC CEO standing down
Michael B. Davis, the CEO of the UAE's largest private sector healthcare provider, NMC Healthcare, is standing down. His last day with the group will be December 20, and he leaves having steered the group through the most trying years in its history. Once seemingly facing financial ruin, NMC came out of administration at the end of last year. [+]
Up to 70% of German hospitals expect to lose money
Around 70% of German hospitals expect a loss this year, according to a survey by management consultancy Roland Berger. HBI chats with a German operator source to find out more. [+]
Consultants ponder a three way marriage
WMC, the largest player in management consultancy in German hospitals has formed a partnership with healthcare specialists Mansfield in the UK and Antares in Spain. WMC is backed by Nordic Capital. So does this mean a merger? [+]
Interview: Stephanie Martlew, CEO, Psyomics
HBI speaks to Stephanie Martlew, CEO of digital mental health company Psyomics, about its Censeo platform, a digital triage tool which helps mental health professionals make better decisions. [+]
Consolidation conundrum - is it ok to own all a pathway?
Pharmacy chain CVS’ latest acquisition - home care provider Signify - has led to an outcry in certain quarters asking, given that it already owns the drugs price negotiator and a private insurance company, whether such wide reaching consolidation is good for shareholders or for patients. [+]
CVS' Signify takeover raises competition concerns
CVS Health, a US retail pharmacy giant, beat Amazon in an $8bn total, $30.50 per share bidding war for home healthcare services company Signify. [+]
Virtual fertility clinics - fad or trend?
A UK-based "virtual fertility clinic" is raising money and boldly claiming it wants to become a leading European fertility player. HBI speaks to an operator source to find out whether virtual clinics are here to stay, or a passing trend? [+]
Veonet buys in Spain, looks abroad for expansion
HBI hears exclusively that large Germany-based ophthalmology platform Veonet is buying in Spain, and turning its attention generally to opportunities outside its domestic market. [+]
Countries with most and least affordable health care ranked - Infographic
Health care software company Radar Healthcare has ranked developed countries by the affordability of their health care, finding Luxembourg to be the most affordable and Greece to be the least affordable. [+]
IHH’s negotiation for Ramsay Sime Darby ends without agreement
Discussions between Asia’s largest multinational hospital group IHH Healthcare Bhd, multinational Australian hospital group Ramsay and logistics company Sime Darby Berhad over the acquisition of Ramsay’s Asian branch Ramsay Sime Darby by IHH have ended without any agreement. [+]
Is Circle BMI for sale or not?
The sale of UK hospital group Circle BMI rolls on - or does it? US care company Centene announced its intention to divest its foreign assets in December and has successfully sold its Spanish and central European subsidiary. HBI now understands from a source close to the company that the sale of Circle BMI is not currently on the cards. Why? [+]
UK dental deal set for green light from competition authority
The done deal between NHS-focussed UK dental group Rodericks Dental and its target, UK rival Dental Partners from London-based private equity August Equity, looks set to be rubber stamped after an investigation by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). [+]
Korian suing employee who wore ‘insulting’ t-shirt
France’s largest elderly care group Korian is suing one of its carer employees for ‘public insult’, after the employee wore a t-shirt with a distorted version of the Korian logo at a protest. [+]
Spire's self-pay revenue rockets
The H1 results for Spire Healthcare, the listed UK-based hospital group, shows the UK continues to be a fertile market for self-pay. [+]
Germany's fascinating ventilator market
"In the UK these people would probably get palliative care," says Prof Michael Isfort at the Deutsches Institut für angewandte Pflegeforschung. He is talking about the German ventilation market. An operator reckons there are 25,000 patients on intensive care for respiration, many of whom are on ventilators. That compares to 4,000 patients on ventilators in the UK at the height of Covid. Most German patients are in the outpatient sector and some are in for-profit centres run by private equity-backed businesses. Statutory insurers are trying to cut costs after a new law IPReG (Intensive Care and Rehabilitation Strengthening Act) was passed in October 2021. Meanwhile, Opseo, one of the three big players may sell this autumn for a price tag of €1bn. [+]
Orpea to pay France €25.7m
French multinational care group Orpea has agreed to pay back €25.7m of the €55.8m which the French government says it is owed. The company has also decided to sell €2bn of property. Its shares continue to bounce around €20-25, down from over €100 pre-scandal. [+]
Health care real estate investors in ‘wait and see mode’
Health care real estate has become an increasingly attractive asset class for investors in recent years. But will this continue in the face of rising inflation and interest rates? [+]
Recchi replaced at Affidea
Giuseppe Recchi is stepping down as CEO of Affidea, Europe’s largest imaging company. The new CEO will continue the company’s ambition to expand into more European markets. [+]
Nurse migration in UK, Germany, Spain, France and Italy 2011-2021
We reported last week on the UK's deal with Nepal to hire nurses so in this week's infographic, we thought we would take a closer look at the migration patterns of nurses across the major European markets UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. We look at the totals from 2011-2020/1 and the most recent available year to see if there are any significant differences. [+]
German nursing homes: safe as houses?
For many years investors have piled into German nursing homes attracted by the long-term care insurance payment model which guarantees future budgets. But the current wave of inflation may swamp many operators. [+]
NHS wage rise to cut tech budgets
The UK’s NHS technology budgets are being cut to fund £1.8bn worth of cost of living-fuelled wage increases, a consultant has told HBI. [+]
Swedish telehealth soars but losses mount
Swedish telehealth companies have experienced a surge in revenue since Covid. But the treble whammy of relatively low fees, expansion costs and the inflationary economic downturn have compounded losses. [+]
Euromedica probe may scupper Henry Dunant deal
The Greek and US governments are investigating vulture fund Farallon's purchase of Euromedica back in 2020. That could scupper Euromedica's planned merger with Imithea – the parent company of Greece’s largest single private hospital Henry Dunant. [+]
Is Uber Health über or unter?
Uber Health, essentially a taxi service to help non-urgent patients get to hospital appointments, has launched in Australia. But how much will it change healthcare services? [+]
Amazon to bet $12bn on health care
Amazon is among the bidders in the $8bn auction of AI/big data US player Signify Health. That comes just over a month after it bought loss-making US primary care chain One Medical for $3.9bn. The tech giant is also closing its existing telehealth arm, Amazon Care. [+]
Waiting for the Tsunami...
Fear, uncertainty and doubt stalk the sector. Batten down the hatches and hope for the best! [+]
Major UAE hospital group entering Saudi with $1bn investment
Burjeel Holdings, a major private hospital group in the UAE, is entering the Saudi Arabian market, saying it will invest up to $1bn in the country by 2030. [+]
German hospitals face tariff squeeze
German hospitals are struggling with inflation as there has been very little sign payors will raise tariff prices, a German operator told HBI. [+]
UK plans to hire nurses from red "do not recruit" country
The UK has signed a preliminary labour agreement with Nepal to allow recruitment of Nepali healthcare professionals in the UK health sector, starting with nurses. This has been questioned by a workforce expert. [+]
Wheels come off UK hiring model
The recent UK-Nepal healthcare professional recruitment agreement smacks of desperation. Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, with purchasing power parity per capita GDP roughly the same as the Congo, according to the IMF. Yes, the UK is in a unique position post-Brexit and is known for its unusual and innovative health care labour agreements. But even so it is a strange move! [+]
Sen brings break up smarts to Fresenius
Michael Sen, the new CEO of Fresenius SE, was previously hired back by Siemens to lead the break up IPO of Siemens Healthineers. So will Sen, currently the CEO of Fresenius’ infusion, transfusion and clinical nutrition subsidiary Kabi, be for revolution or continuity? [+]
Interview: Erick Galinkin, Principal AI Researcher, Rapid7
Ransomware attacks on health care providers have grown exponentially in recent years, with data indicating it is now one of the most targeted industries. HBI speaks to Erick Galinkin, security and AI researcher at Rapid7, a US-based cybersecurity firm, about the new trend of ‘double extortion attacks’ in which attackers threaten to leak sensitive patient data, and what operators can do to protect themselves. [+]
PMI patients won't jump Sweden's queues
Proposed Swedish legislation will prevent patients with private health insurance from getting swifter access to Sweden’s public health system. The privately insured population has risen seven fold since 2000. [+]
Right shift could boost Swedish for-profit
Less than three weeks ahead of the September 11 elections, Swedish parties are neck-to-neck in the opinion polls. The question is whether the centre left Social Democratic Party will remain in power. In its favour is the relative popularity of Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, who in the polls is well ahead of opposition leaders. [+]
Ramsay rejects new KKR bid after poor results
The acquisition of multinational Australian hospital giant Ramsay Health Care by a consortium led by US PE firm KKR looks likely to fall through, as KKR lowered its offer almost immediately after Ramsay reported disappointing FY2022 results and Ramsay then rejected the new offer. [+]
€1bn for ventilator patient business
Opseo, a German company whose core business is keeping patients alive on mechanical ventilators, is to be sold this autumn. Other players in this uniquely German sector may follow. [+]
German labs sector ‘to grow strongly’
Opportunities for consolidation in the German diagnostic labs sector have almost dried up, according to a large lab operator. But the market as a whole will continue to grow strongly post-Covid, with revenue up as much as 4-5% per annum, he said. [+]
What does Kiwi deal tell us about Bupa's plans?
Bupa appears to be selling off its New Zealand nursing home arm. What does this mean for the rest of its huge health care services portfolio – which generated revenue of £3.74bn in 2021 – and of its long-term strategy? [+]
Patient choice or analysis paralysis?
Patient choice is now viewed less as a buzzword and more as a KPI, but how are patients making choices? [+]
Consolidation opportunity in post-Covid Dutch labs sector
The Netherlands' diagnostic labs sector is being held back by low tariffs, which are resulting in low margins meaning there is little incentive to invest in the sector. HBI speaks to an operator who thinks as Covid support wanes, we may see a lot of consolidation. [+]
Domitys tempts residents with promise of exotic holidays abroad
French elderly care and assisted living specialist Domitys is set to offer residents the promise of exotic holidays abroad, jumping onto a bandwagon already embraced by the likes of rival Korian. [+]
Netherlands to end free choice in health care
The Dutch government is seeking to end free choice within health care by removing the obligation on health insurers to reimburse care from any provider. The proposal is part of the cabinet’s plan to shake up the Netherland’s health care system, and will make it much harder for new entrants to compete with established providers. HBI chats with two market experts to find out more. [+]
KKR exits Max Healthcare
US private equity player KKR has solid its entire stake in India-based hospital chain Max Healthcare, marking its exit from the group, for around Rs9,200 crore. The deal marks its largest exit from an Indian firm, and is the largest single block deal done by any PE firm in India. [+]
Lusiadas deal still on as seller carries cost of muti-million fine
The planned acquisition of Lusiadas Saude, Portugal's third largest hospital group, by France's third largest hospital group Vivalto Sante, will not be impacted by the €34.2m fine that has been handed to Lusiadas by Portugal's competition authority. [+]
Bupa and Ramsay Australia resolve tariff tiff
Insurer Bupa and the Australian branch of multinational hospital chain Ramsay have managed to reach an in-principle agreement over price increases, ensuring Bupa-insured Australians will be able to continue to receive care in Ramsay hospitals for the next three years. [+]
KKR may switch to private credit to finance IVI RMA takeover
Facing an increasingly volatile market, American buyout / investment firm KKR may switch to direct lenders to finance its acquisition of fertility company IVI RMA Global, despite agreeing €800m of underwritten financing from four investment banks. [+]
Four Seasons seller happy to split group for sale
Potential buyers of Four Seasons Health Care Group’s (FSHC) 110 homes must place their bids before the end of September, insists Christie & Co, the business broker in charge of the sale. [+]
Are UK NHS dentists facing extinction?
On July 5, 1948, Aneurin Bevan established the core principles of the UK NHS, designed to meet the needs of all, and free at the point of delivery. Dentistry has been walking its own path for some time now, however, and NHS dentistry is unequivocally in crisis. [+]
Private pay health care growth slower and more volatile than public/statutory growth across big 5 - Infographic
Both private and public/statutory expenditure on health care grew substantially over the course of the 2010s across the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. But public/statutory expenditure growth was both significantly higher and less volatile. [+]
Ramsay deal at risk due to French connection
The US$15bn KKR acquisition of Australia-based Ramsay may not go ahead, owing to consistent problems with the hospital group’s French subsidiary. HBI chats to an Australian analyst to find out more. [+]
Synlab still benefiting from Covid testing windfall
Europe’s largest lab group Synlab earned €618m from Covid testing in the first half of 2022. This was a 30% drop from H1 2021, but higher than what it had initially forecasted for the period. Revenue from underlying, non-Covid activity was strong, at 7.2%, helped by several bolt-on acquisitions. [+]
Pan European IVF provider acquires in London
Czechia-based Pan-European IVF provider FutureLife has acquired London IVF clinic The Centre for Reproductive and Genetic Health (CRGH). [+]
UK private pay dentistry booming, as available NHS dentists become rare as unicorns
Private pay dentistry is booming according to multiple sources in the UK, while finding a dentist free to take on new NHS patients is “like looking for a unicorn” as the profession collectively criticises reimbursement rates, and leaves for more lucrative private work. [+]
Tik Tok’s owner buys Chinese hospital chain
The Chinese owner of social media giant Tik Tok, ByteDance, has bought a hospital chain in China which specialises in women and children’s care, for $1.5bn. [+]
Dutch nursing home acquisition creates rival to Orpea and Korian
HBI hears that Dutch nursing home operator Domus Magnus has acquired competitor Valuas Zorggroep. [+]
Interview—Peter Karli head of Heal Partners, Budapest, Hungary
Peter Karli, the urbane owner and MD of Central and Eastern European-focussed M&A advisory firm Heal Partners KFT, expects “explosive growth in Hungary’s dynamic for-profit healthcare market". HBI chats to him to find out more. [+]
Babylon may pull back in Europe to focus on US market
As UK tech start-up Babylon Health withdraws from a couple of ten-year contracts with NHS Trusts eight years early, we speak to a digital health expert who tells us he isn't surprised as the US market is the place to be. [+]
Orpea selling 32 Dutch nursing homes and paying back €55.8m to French government
Orpea is selling 32 of its nursing homes in The Netherlands to Syntrus Achmea Real Estate & Finance (a REIT) for approximately €125m, as part of the asset disposal part of its plan to clean up its finances. The company, which is also trying to clean up its reputation in light of accusations of malpractice, has agreed to pay back €55.8m to the French government after public investigations following the suggestion it misappropriated public funds. [+]
WHO criticises prominence of for-profits in Bulgaria
A World Health Organisation (WHO) Report published in July chastises Bulgaria’s Health Ministry for allowing the for-profit sector to dominate the nation’s healthcare, while much needed reforms look to be on hold following the collapse of the government. [+]
A spurt in German Healthcare M&A deals ahead of uncertain winter
The German healthcare M&A market continues to be buoyant following the boom in 2021. But as autumn draws in, the pace of deals may abate and sellers may struggle to achieve previous heady price premiums, advisors warn. [+]
European Dental Group "up for sale soon"
HBI hears that pan-European and dentist-led European Dental Group (EDG) could be up for sale soon. HBI takes a look at the business and possible pricing at a time when dentistry continues to be a hot ticket. [+]
Covid testing windfall for lab groups coming to an end - Infographic
After peaking earlier this year, testing volumes for Covid in Europe have fallen back to almost the level they were at in the first months of the pandemic. [+]
Mediclinic accepts £3.7bn bid
The board of Mediclinic, the South Africa-based multinational hospital giant, have announced they have agreed acquisition terms with the consortium comprised of Remgro, the investment vehicle of the billionaire Rupert family and a long-time Mediclinic shareholder, and the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). They have recommended these terms to shareholders. [+]
Can ESG transform capitalism - or is it just corporate guff?
ESG - Environmental, Social and Governance - is all the rage in corporate circles these days. Mention of ESG in S&P 500 quarterly earnings calls has increased almost a hundred fold since 2017. And it’s not just energy companies and other big polluters who are making attempts to incorporate it into their strategies. Since Covid, healthcare services companies are increasingly doing so as well. Many healthcare companies are choosing to focus particularly on the S part of ESG, emphasising their ability to improve access to healthcare and contribute to a healthier society. [+]
Interview: Peter Fish, CEO, Mendelian
HBI chats with Peter Fish, CEO of Mendelian, a company which combines patient medical records with the most-up-to date academic data on risk factors, using big data to uncover the patterns that doctors are missing and find the undiagnosed sufferers of rare diseases. [+]
Henry Dunant merger makes public sector acquisition unlikely
Henry Dunant Hospital, Greece’s largest private hospital, is now unlikely to be sold to the public sector after a merger between its parent company Imithea and Greek healthcare services multitasker Euromedica. [+]
Fresenius: "We're not selling"
Germany-based healthcare conglomerate Fresenius tells HBI it isn't currently looking to carve off parts of its business for sale, and despite mixed H1 results it sees plenty of opportunities for growth. [+]
Ramsay Australia suggests Bupa-insured switch insurer after tariff negotiations fail
Ramsay Australia, the Australian branch of multinational hospital group Ramsay Health Care, is no longer contracted with insurer Bupa after the two companies failed to come to an agreement in negotiations over tariff increases. Ramsay has advised the four million Australians insured by Bupa to switch to another insurer rather than pay out-of-pocket to receive care from Ramsay hospitals and clinics from October 2. [+]
Comparison of EU5 labs market plus 7 largest multi-national European operations
This week we take a closer look at how the lab services market stacks up in the five major European markets of France, Spain, Germany, Italy, and the UK. Here we compared the total, for-profit and public market revenues, seeing where operators took the biggest revenues. These figures are a snapshot of the 2021 figures in our labs report in HBI Intelligence. [+]
VPS IPO stalls
Abu Dhabi-based multinational healthcare group VPS seems to have quietly canned its planned IPO. [+]
Massive opportunities for M&A as French imaging sector consolidates
Almost 30 per cent of France’s €4.1 billion outpatient imaging market will consolidate in the next five years, an informed HBI source predicts. [+]
Kry keeps mum on valuation but is "unlikely" to be devalued
Kry, the Swedish telehealth company also known as Livi in the UK and France, has raised US$160m of debt and equity funding in Series D follow-on funding. However, the firm has kept a tight lid on its valuation and observers are conflicted as to why this is. [+]
CEOs change at Maisons de Famille
Philippe Tapié has retired as CEO of Maisons de Famille, the European elderly care and nursing home group. He remains on the board of the firm’s Italian division. [+]
British lab minnow takes on America
NVM Capital has bought a majority stake in Yorktest, the largest UK food intolerance testing lab. The company, which has doubled sales in two years, plans to expand in the USA where it faces Everlywell, which is valued at several billion dollars. [+]
Centene sells Ribera
US healthcare giant Centene confirmed it has sold its Spanish and Central European subsidiaries to French private hospital group Vivalto Santé, but has yet to find a buyer for Circle Health, the second largest UK hospital chain. [+]
How precision medicine and austerity will change health care
Here is how Prof Antony Rosen, vice dean for research at Johns Hopkins, sees precision medicine in its broadest sense changing the business model in a world where more and more payors are imposing arbitrary ceilings on what they pay providers. [+]
Ramsay deal may unblock
Media reports suggest that Ramsay Santé, the 53%-owned continental European arm of Ramsay Health Care, may relent and allow KKR to carry out due diligence which would enable it to complete on its AU$88 a share bid. But investors were not convinced with the shares languishing at AU$69.84 at close of play. [+]
HBI 2022: Everyone sees the benefits of sharing data, but not everyone is willing to share
In a recent survey, 90% of surveyed patients agreed that everyone can benefit from the sharing of patient data – but 23% said they would be reluctant to share their own data - even if it was private. Dr Nick West, chief medical officer, global medical affairs, Abbott Vascular, explained more about the benefit of sharing data at HBI 2022. [+]
Interview: Arjan Toor, CEO, Cigna Europe
HBI chats with Arjan Toor, CEO of Cigna Europe, about innovation in the insurance market against a backdrop of the pandemic, and a growing crisis in mental health. [+]
Private Chinese hospitals in good health
Consulting group L.E.K. has released the results of its analysis Hospital Priorities 2022 (China edition). The survey of 120 hospital executives explains the sector’s focus points and achievements thus far and the implications of these priorities for pharma and medtech firms. [+]
German hospital sector faces cliff
The number of hospitals losing money will more than double to 59% in 2022 and the situation is likely to get far worse as the Covid block payment comfort cushion has been removed. Meanwhile, statutory insurers face huge deficits, hospital productivity is falling and vacancies increasing. The annual 2022 hospital rating report from the Leibniz Institute of Economic Research and the Institute for Healthcare Business paints a truly dire picture. [+]
Blog: Who has the worst waiting lists?
NHS England's staggering 6.6m waiting list almost certainly had led to a 39% rise to 69,000 in patients paying to go private in the fourth quarter of 2021. What’s worse – only about two thirds of it is thanks to the pandemic. Ireland has an even worse per capita waiting list but what about other European countries? [+]
Infographic: UK and Ireland have the worst waiting lists
England’s staggering waiting list for elective care, which sits at 6.6 million people at time of writing, is unsurprisingly much worse than most other NHS-style systems and very close to the levels in Ireland. Eagle-eyed readers may have already noticed the lack of Bismarckian systems – a triumph of mandatory-insurers? Not necessarily. [+]
Wage inflation hit Medicover and Terveystalo
Terveystalo, the Finnish and now Swedish outpatient network for whom employers are the main customers, and Medicover, the Pan-East European and now Indian group, both saw falls in EBITDA in the second quarter, thanks partly to the tight labour market, which also limited growth. Drops in Covid test volumes hasn't helped either and Terveystalo said that volumes of other tests have not recovered quite as expected. Medicover shares rose 17 SEK to 148SEK on the day, with Terveystalo off €1.4 at €9.17 over the week. [+]
Reforms enable Ambea to raise its social care presence in Denmark
Ambea Group, a major quoted Scandinavian care provider, has been actively buying social care companies in Denmark. We look at why Ambea has been buying in a country which has a history of hostility to for-profit health care and now has a leftist, Social Democrat government. [+]
Amazon buys primary care network for 6x revenue
Amazon surprised markets by buying the loss-making One Medical US primary care chain for $18 a share, a 43% premium. In 2021 One Medical grew revenue by 64% to $623m, on which it lost $243.5m. [+]
Bid may undervalue Mediclinic
South African analysts say the 504p per share, £3.7bn proposed cash offer for Mediclinic International's equity, the South African, Swiss and Middle East hospital group may somewhat undervalue the business. The current offer equates to an enterprise value of £5.88bn. Analysts put the break up value on an enterprise value at between £5.5bn and £6.2bn. HBI reckons the equity alone could be worth £5.2bn. [+]
Portuguese hospital groups face €191 million fine
The Autorldade da Concorrencia (AdC), the Portuguese Competition Authority, has sanctioned and imposed fines of €191 million on several private hospital groups and the Portuguese Private Hospitals Association (APHP). [+]
Psychedelics could shake up mental health treatment - but will require a mindset shift
At the Psychiatry and Mental Health session at HBI 2022 we heard from Adrienne Rivlin (partner at strategy consultancy LEK) about how psychedelic therapy promises to radically transform the mental health sector. But how ready is the sector (not to mention society) for the shift in mindset that this will require? [+]
Four Seasons announces sale of bulk of care homes
UK-based elderly care providers Four Seasons Healthcare Group is for sale, again, this time putting 111 of its 130 care homes up for sale in two weeks time. [+]
2021 - a surprisingly good year for the Top 100!
This EMEA Top 100 is extracted from HBI Intelligence which, as well as containing 470 reports on 33 countries and 23 sub-sectors, also includes a database of the top 5,000 health care services operators across Europe, the Middle East and Emerging Markets across Asia and Latin America. The Top 100 shows these companies’ sales relating to health care service activities in EMEA only. [+]
UK must urgently develop diagnostic centres to meet surging demand
The UK National Health Service (NHS) should unquestionably boost outsourcing to counter the acute shortage of diagnostic centres in the country, according to a panel at HBI 2022 focused on "Building Capacity and Care Pathways through Partnerships". [+]
Health care stocks resilient but not immune to darkening economic horizon - Infographic
Most major listed healthcare groups saw a fall in their share prices over the course of the first half of 2022, likely due at least in part to the ever-more-imminent prospect of global recession. The sector hasn't suffered as badly as some others, however. [+]
Icade Santé buys in Spain, and sells in France
French REIT Icade Santé is on a buying and selling spree. On June 30, the company finalised the purchase of Spanish care facilities for €60 million. Two days before it sold four healthcare facilities in France for €78 million. [+]
Romania’s MedLife on takeover trail since beginning of June
Listed Romanian operator MedLife has made six acquisitions between June and July this year. [+]
Ramsay may sell French subsidiary to ease the path for KKR takeover
The Australia-based multinational hospital group Ramsay may sell its share in French subsidiary Ramsay Santé so private equity firm KKR’s proposed AU$88 per share takeover of the group doesn't come under fire from France’s competition authority – but this raises issues with the deal. [+]
Interview: Chad Walkaden, OnTracka
HBI speaks to Chad Walkaden, the founder of OnTracka, a multipronged digital platform which can run decentralised clinical trials, collect real-world data from patients, and provide patients with a digital service which helps them to get the most out of their medicinal treatments. [+]
HBI 2022: Building digital health ecosystems
Covid-19 forced the increased adoption of technology to aid healthcare delivery. The HBI 2022 digital ecosystem panel said in some ways this was detrimental – digital without physical doesn’t lead to quality patient outcomes – but a robust digital health ecosystem must be a priority for the sector moving forward. [+]
Providers criticise Lancet study on correlation between NHS outsourcing and excess deaths
A new study published in the Lancet showing a correlation between increased outsourcing by the UK's NHS to for-profit providers with increased treatable deaths has been rubbished by several in the independent healthcare industry. [+]
HBI 2022: Digital tools and psychedelics could help address mental health crisis
Speakers at the Mental Health and Psychiatry session at HBI 2022 were in complete alignment on one thing: they all agreed that the challenge presented by rapidly increasing demand for mental health services requires radical innovation if supply is to have any chance of keeping up. [+]
HBI 2022: Who will win the Subscription War?
Subscription health models were a popular conversation and "subscription" a bit of a buzzword at HBI2022. A panel of experts looked at how three different companies are making these models work. [+]
HBI 2022: Integrated care is tricky - but worth it
Integrated care is well worth delivering. Not only can it help to break down the silos which get in the way of efficient healthcare delivery, but some very effective tools can only be used with integration. A panel at HBI 2022 asked: What do firms have to consider before they can deliver it? [+]
Mediclinic grants diligence access after latest consortium bid proposal
Mediclinic, the South Africa-based multinational hospital group, has granted due diligence access to the consortium which has made a bid proposal valuing Mediclinic at 504 pence per share, a rise of just 8.8% on the previous offer of 460p plus a 3p dividend. [+]
Patient vs. clinician perspectives on barriers to accurate diagnosis
This week, we look at barriers to accurate diagnosis in two infographics shared by Nick West, chief medical officer in the Vascular Division at US-based multinational medical devices and health care group Abbott, at HBI 2022. [+]
Vivalto Sante goes international with expansion into Portugal and Switzerland
Vivalto Sante, the third largest for-profit hospital group in France, is joining the likes of Fresenius, Ramsay and Mediclinic as it becomes the latest member of the highly select club of multinational hospital groups. As well as having bought a chain of three clinics in Switzerland, it is buying Lusiadas Saude, the third largest hospital group in Portugal. CEO Daniel Caille tells HBI that the decision to go international has nothing to do with opportunities for consolidation within the French market drying up. [+]
Interview with Kate Newhouse, COO and Executive Director of Kooth
HBI caught up with Kate Newhouse, COO and executive director of digital mental health care group Kooth, before her appearance on the mental health panel at HBI2022. [+]
Triton purchases majority stake in Esperi Care
European-focused private equity group Triton has bought a majority stake in Finland-based residential care provider Esperi Care Oy (Esperi). [+]
Unilabs acquires Grupo Centro Scanner, boosting its extensive diagnostic presence in Spain
Global lab and imaging company Unilabs has purchased Grupo Centro Scanner, a diagnostic imaging company in Andalusia. [+]
HBI 2022: Examining the emergence and necessity of affordable private care solutions
NHS systems in the UK and Spain are struggling. L.E.K. Consulting’s breakfast seminar at HBI 2022 examined the emergence - and necessity - of affordable private care as part of the solution. [+]
HBI 2022: How digitalisation is driving a service revolution
The arguments for digitalisation in healthcare services are well-established, and thanks to the pandemic, hybrid models are coming more and more to the fore. How is digitalisation being used to improve financial outcomes, and how is data being used to deliver unprecedented proactive and preventative measures? [+]
HBI 2022: Unlocking the true potential of AI
How can AI improve health outcomes? A panel at HBI 2022 entitled “The Truth about AI” presented solutions, and success rates that caught the eye. [+]
HBI 2022: Money alone isn't the solution to the workforce crisis
There is a global war for talent being keenly fought. Workforce is one of - if not the - most pressing problems in the healthcare sector. Providers at HBI 2022 uniformly fretted over the need to acquire, and retain staff, and shared their views on how best to do this. [+]
HBI 2022: Partnering with university hospitals
University hospitals and their twinned research institutes are the mainstay of health care delivery in EMEA. Their approach to partnering is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Here we look at what they want and at winning partnering strategies that create real value and innovation. [+]
HBI 2022: Is the only way to align incentives between payors and providers to integrate them?
Integrated payor-provider models offer the best hope for eliminating perverse incentives for doctors to over-treat, but it's not clear how easy it will be to implement such models. [+]
HBI 2022: Capitalising on the abundant opportunities in imaging and radiotherapy
There are huge opportunities in imaging and radiotherapy according to a panel at HBI 2022, given how much demand will grow and how many unconsolidated markets there are. But panellists had differing views on the best business model to capitalise on this. [+]
HBI 2022: Home care drastically reduces healthcare costs
“Healthcare professionals spend a lot of time on unnecessary activities,” explained Chris Malone, UK managing director at remote patient monitoring digital health company Luscii, to the Expanding Care at Home panel at HBI 2022. Both of the session's panellists presented cases for how moving towards providing a lot more clinical care in people’s homes, rather than in hospitals and clinics, aided by the use of the latest digital tools, can be used to tackle this issue. [+]
HBI 2022: How to tackle the primary care capacity crisis
Primary care is facing major capacity issues across multiple European countries, but digital innovations are already shaking up the sector. Speakers at the Primary Care Plus session at HBI 2022 explained how a digital and data-enabled move away from synchronous care can free up clinicians' precious time. [+]
HBI 2022: ESG important for property investors as well
Property investors have become increasingly attracted to healthcare assets in recent years, driven by a juicy combination of low risk and high yields. But recent scandals have highlighted the reputational risks of the sector, which property investors are not entirely immune from, and so a focus on ESG that goes beyond energy efficiency requirements for buildings has become essential. [+]
3R buys in Switzerland and looks at France
Naxicap-owned imaging group 3R Réseau Radiologique Romand has bought IRIS Radiologie and is eyeing up France. Germany and Italy are also possibles, HBI hears. [+]
Swiss labs suffer 10% cut, more may follow
Switzerland has chopped its diagnostic lab prices by 10% in a move that is billed as saving CHf 140m (€141). There could well be further crackdowns following a publication highlighting the massive differences between Swiss prices and those in France, Germany and the Netherlands. [+]
New pricing engine allows Spire to capitalise on self-pay
Spire Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest private hospital groups, unveiled its new ‘pricing engine’ at their capital markets day this week - a computer programme which calculates optimal prices based on data about competitor pricing, procedures, inflation, and location, to automate price changes much quicker than was possible previously. [+]
HBI 2022: Rosy future for dentistry, despite resurfacing threats
Pre-Covid, dentistry was seen as one of the hot tickets of healthcare services, largely unconsolidated, and attracting huge interest, not least from private equity. Covid took its toll but as the threat from the pandemic recedes in Europe, the focus has shifted back onto the opportunities in the sector – and onto other, longer-lasting problems like staffing, training, and the threat of recession. Despite these threats, according to a panel at HBI 2022, the future for the sector looks bright. [+]
HBI 2022: Resilient fertility a "ridiculously positive market"
Resilient, recession-proof fertility has a strong future ahead, but will face some challenges in the coming months according to an HBI 2022 panel. Demand is strong, patients came back quickly when clinics - and borders - reopened, and the threat of recession is not causing anyone to lose sleep. [+]
HBI 2022: Considerable scope for growth in the rehabilitation sector
Rehabilitation capacity and services are likely to increase considerably in the coming decade, according to a panel at HBI 2022. [+]
HBI 2022: Affidea on increasing performance while improving patient experience
A breakfast briefing session at HBI 2022 by Affidea, the largest pan-European provider of advanced diagnostics, outpatient and cancer care, took a deep dive into driving operational efficiencies and improving patient experience. [+]
HBI 2022: Panel sees a rosy future for ophthalmology
Ophthalmology continues to be a big area of investor interest, with considerable scope for consolidation in both healthcare services and also medical devices. As governments in the UK, Finland and parts of Eastern Europe in particular continue to increase outsourcing, the potential to unlock additional private pay services is increasing, and upselling of more complex lenses is on the rise. An expert panel convened at HBI 2022 to discuss the opportunities and challenges in the post-pandemic landscape. [+]
HBI 2022: Confidence in long term return on digital healthcare investment
The bear market volatility of digital and other health tech stocks may have unnerved investors, but an HBI 2022 panel is confident about long term return on investment and future expansion of digital healthcare. [+]
HBI 2022: Balance of power in MENA is shifting
There is a risk, when looking at healthcare markets in MENA, of lumping all the countries together as one - but each market has very specific requirements, and very specific characteristics. A panel at HBI 2022 chaired by Hamid Yunis, partner at global law firm McDermott Will & Emery, investigated challenges and opportunities in the region - and how rapidly the markets are changing and why overseas players now need to work harder to impress. [+]
HBI 2022: Dementia care clearly insufficient
The inexorable rise in the need for dementia care dominated the elderly care panel discussion at HBI 2022, whilst the global staffing crisis was also, inevitably, on the agenda. Is enough being done to prepare for the sharp rise in dementia patients expected in the coming years, and how are groups dealing with the war for talent? [+]
Elderly capacity nowhere near enough to meet growing dementia need
In this week's infographics, prepared by strategy consultancy L.E.K. for HBI 2022, we look at the massive growth that will be seen in the number of elderly people with dementia across major European countries by 2030 alongside elderly care capacity in those countries. [+]
Fresenius looking to split off Helios and merge it with competitor
Germany-based multinational healthcare group Fresenius SE is reportedly leaning towards splitting off hospital branch Fresenius Helios and merging it with a competitor hospital chain in order to grow the business and increase its profitability. A spokesperson for the group tells us any such deal would involve Fresenius SE staying on as majority shareholder. [+]
HBI 2022: M&A may slow in H2, but demand remains strong
“We are about to face a global recession,” conceded Hedley Goldberg, managing director at financial advisory group Rothschild, to a packed out audience at the plenary session on the M&A landscape at HBI 2022. “But it will be an unusual one with high levels of inflation and employment.” [+]
HBI 2022: Trade associations preferred way for sector to defend itself
There were some eye catching audience poll results at the start of the Regulatory and Political Risk session at HBI 2022. A significant majority thought recent negative media coverage of for-profit health and care providers had impacted investor confidence - and that it would lead to new regulations. [+]
HBI 2022: Germany's outpatient regulatory restrictions 'must change'
The attraction of the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) for investors is clear, yet despite there being a willingness to pay for extra services across the region, the coming economic crisis does present a unique set of challenges to each country. [+]
HBI 2022: Is healthcare financially sustainable?
Daniela Hommel, CFO at healthcare communications firm Helios Global Health, starkly laid out the problem facing the healthcare sector at HBI 2022: “Healthcare is not financially sustainable if it continues along current trends. By 2050, 25% of GDP will have to go towards healthcare if these trends continue. This is not financeable." [+]
NHS bad, Bismarck good
There was profound pessimism about Westminster-style NHS healthcare systems on display at the European Healthcare Policy Group (EHPG). And even more pessimism about integrated healthcare, the latest buzzword from NHS England. [+]
Why Westminster NHS systems fail
Profound pessimism about NHS plans for integrated health and with NHS systems in the UK and Canada was on display from academics at the European Health Policymakers Group which celebrated its 21st year in an afternoon looking at what the group had learnt studying Beveridge (NHS) and Bismarckian (statutory insurer) models. [+]
Biogroup co-founder found dead in Paris, aged 52
Stéphane Eimer, president and co-founder of French laboratory company Biogroup, died on Wednesday, June 22. [+]
Pandemic increased willingness to self-pay - but cost of living crisis will decrease it - Infographic
In this week's infographic we look at survey data collected by strategy consultancy L.E.K. that was presented at HBI 2022. The data suggests that willingness to pay privately increased as a result of the pandemic, but could be about to decrease due to the cost of living crisis. [+]
Twenty things we learned at HBI 2022
HBI 2022, the year's largest CxO-level for-profit healthcare services conference, took place in central London this week. The conference stages and the floor were awash with interesting ideas, staggering statistics, suggestions for building a better business and the buzz of new friendships being formed. As always, there were new things to learn. Here are twenty of our top take aways from this year's event. [+]
HBI 2022: Lack of debt may hit M&A in second half
M&A deals in health care services such as the bid for British health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain Boots are coming under threat as market uncertainty, interest rates and inflation soar. Massive deals may fail if debt dries up. This could lead to a further slow-down in M&A activity in the second half of 2022, following a record year 2021. [+]
Russians flock to Turkey for healthcare as other international options dwindle
Sources in Turkey tell HBI that Russians are coming to Turkey in unprecedented numbers for medical treatment, as sanctions imposed following the war in Ukraine continue to bite. [+]
Covid fears being replaced by familiar worries
As the threat posed by Covid largely recedes in most European countries and beyond, the collective attention of those working in healthcare services has returned to the familiar challenges which never went away, but were masked by the more immediate and headline-grabbing threat of the pandemic. Three immediately spring to mind following HBI 2022 this week: 1) Finances, and the threat of recession. 2) Where to find staff, and how to retain them. 3) The rise of the importance of the patient experience. [+]
IHPN: Independent hospitals under used for NHS backlog
Independent hospital providers in the UK say its NHS is not sufficiently using its capacity to deal with the elective surgery backlog, despite saying it would do so. [+]
Orpea may need to rebrand in Middle East expansion
Embattled French elderly care firm Orpea may need to rebrand its Middle East expansion, a source close to to the company tells HBI, but not everyone agrees. [+]
Major french hospital group moves into Canada
One of the largest French hospital groups has bought two facilities in Quebec where it says it will be able to build and open more for-profit hospitals something that is now impossible in France. [+]
US academic medical centres face squeeze
The 100 academic medical centres which make up the core of US healthcare delivery face a squeeze. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Mayo both notched up net losses due in part to hikes in labour costs and caps on tariffs. An AMC source said that the model as a whole was under threat as disruptors peel away the high profit margin services that AMCs use to help finance loss-makers like behavioural health. [+]
Korian and Club Med join forces with new luxury assisted living site
French elderly care giant Korian has opened a new senior living complex in partnership with holiday resort provider Club Med. The luxury complex will include a restaurant from Michelin star chef Pierre Gagnaire. [+]
HBI 2022: Digital massively reduces costs
Digital health and AI are finally demonstrably making huge savings in healthcare delivery costs in many ways, said several speakers at HBI 2022, citing examples of 50% savings in primary care and counselling. [+]
HBI 2022: Predicting telehealth company valuations is "like reading tea leaves"
According to a digital healthcare expert at HBI 2022, we may as well all stop trying to predict where telehealth company valuations are likely to go over the next couple of years. It simply isn't possible. [+]
HBI 2022: Rush to deal in data could see the hospitals who act fastest winning big
Hospitals are racing to cut deals to sell their data - and those able to package it and find the right partners quick enough could find themselves with a substantial market advantage. [+]
Spain "too reliant" on for profits to pull the plug
The Spanish government has put forward a draft bill to strengthen its NHS system, and wean it off the private sector. A well-placed source at HBI 2022 tells us that for-profits are so entrenched and vital to Spain's NHS system that attempts to remove them would be too catastrophic, meaning a wholesale removal is highly unlikely. The bill still needs to pass the legislature before it becomes law. [+]
Parsa: “We are at the threshold of biggest change ever to take place in healthcare”
At the HealthTech Summit in London, Ali Parsa, CEO of US-listed-telehealth group Babylon, clashed with Kevin Ryan, CEO of New York investment fund AlleyCorp, over the level of threat the current economic climate poses to digital health companies. [+]
For-profit health care at the cross roads
Next week is a real opportunity to assess where health care services is internationally at HBI 2022 in London. So what are the big questions? [+]
Saudi Arabia backs new $400m hospital for Jordan
The University College London Medical School (UCLMS) is joining forces with the Saudi Jordanian Investment Fund (SJIF) and UCLA Health in a new $400 million (€380m) university hospital in Jordan. [+]
Spain to ban health care outsourcing
The leftist Spanish government has put forward a draft bill to increase the ‘equity, universality and cohesion’ of its NHS system, which includes a decree to limit the use of the private sector. The bill has to pass parliament before it becomes law. The Spanish Private Health Alliance has said it could fight the law in the courts if necessary. [+]
Metropolis denies it is open to bidders
Metropolis Healthcare, the big Indian diagnostic and pathology group, is determined to forestall potential predators despite talk of a $1bn joint bid from hospital chain Apollo and conglomerate Adani Group. [+]
Atrys buys Bienzobas for €76.3m
Despite its recent share price falls, highly acquisitive Spanish laboratory diagnostic group Atrys Health is to buy Bienzobas for €76.3m, a Spanish company which provides oncology services to insurance companies and hospital groups. [+]
Operose faces accusations
Operose Health, one of the biggest GP providers to the UK NHS, is facing an accusation of mismanagement at one of its surgeries by an undercover BBC Panorama investigation. It blames a national lack of GPs. [+]
Interview: Christina Triantafyllou, head of improving patient experience, Siemens Healthineers
As patients are becoming increasingly savvy and well-informed healthcare consumers, the focus on patient experience has never been stronger, and the ongoing pandemic put this into even sharper focus. HBI catches up with Dr Christina Triantafyllou, Siemens Healthineers’ head of improving patient experience, to find out more. [+]
New report: International Investing in Healthcare and Life Sciences 2022
The latest report from global law firm McDermott Will & Emery (McDermott) looks at the international investment landscape in healthcare, and life sciences. HBI speaks to McDermott’s London head of healthcare, Sharon Lamb to find out more. [+]
Comparing European care markets - Infographic
In this week's infographic we take a closer look at the for-profit adult and elderly care market across Europe. We look at how the for-profit markets compare across the different countries as well as at the types of care, most predominant in those countries. We have compared the markets based on a Euro per capita basis. [+]
Kry self-reports Facebook data breach to Swedish authorities
Swedish telehealth provider Kry says it will co-operate with an investigation by the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection (IMY) into the sharing of user contact information with Facebook - an 'error' which Kry has admitted to. [+]
UK government launches digital health strategy
The UK government has launched a new strategy for the use of digital technology and data in the health and social care sectors. Health secretary Sajid Javid gave a speech at the HealthTech Summit in London on the day of the launch about how the strategy will shake up the sector. [+]
Bridgepoint’s acquisition of Dentego falls through over price
Listed British PE firm Bridgepoint’s planned acquisition of Dentego, France’s largest dentistry group, has fallen through due to disagreements with the vendor over the price. [+]
Largest lab group in GCC likely to list
Al Borg Diagnostics with 64 labs across 8 countries in GCC and Africa and a dominant position in Saudi Arabia, its home market, looks set to finally list in 2022. We speculate (wildly!) on valuation. [+]
French imaging group Simago looks to sell stake
Privately owned French imaging services group Simago is looking to sell at least a minority stake, HBI hears. [+]
KKR mulls post-takeover Ramsay sale-and-leaseback deal
The consortium led by private equity firm KKR is reportedly planning sale-and-leaseback deals should its proposed US$15bn takeover of multinational hospital group Ramsay Health Care prove successful, and is looking for suitors. [+]
Did we get Covid vaccination wrong?
There will be many aspects of the world’s response to Covid-19 that will be debated for years to come. Were governments too rash and draconian in their imposition of lockdowns? Or were they too slow and hesitant, costing thousands of lives? Was it appropriate to more or less completely halt elective care for months on end? Or was this unavoidable to prevent hospitals overflowing? Was it right to ban relatives from saying goodbye to their quarantined loved ones, or to effectively put mental health patients in solitary confinement (as happened in many NHS trusts in the UK)? How effective were mandates to wear masks in public places? [+]
Comparison of EU5 hospital market plus 10 largest European operations - Infographic
This week we take a closer look at how the hospital market stacks up, specifically in five major European markets – France, Spain, Germany, Italy and UK. [+]
Mediclinic rejects £3.4bn takeover bid from consortium led by largest shareholder
Multinational South African hospital group Mediclinic has rejected a proposal for a possible cash offer of £3.4bn for the company’s entire share capital. The proposal came from a consortium comprising Mediclinic’s current largest shareholder, South African investment holding firm Remgro, and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world’s second largest container shipping provider. [+]
Interview, Kirsty Bashforth, Chief business officer, Diaverum
Chronic Kidney Disease is a continuing to rise, further impacted by COVID and the wider economic burden. We discuss how digitalisation, improving health literacy and a more holistic approach could make a difference to the outlook in this sector with Kirsty Bashforth, chief business officer, Diaverum, ahead of her How to Build a Brand workshop at HBI 2022. [+]
IHH focuses on its core, and cuts off its medical education arm
Pan-Asian hospital powerhouse IHH Healthcare has agreed to the sale of its medical education arm- International Medical University (IMU), to a consortium of investors for RM1.35bn (around €290m). [+]
INVL buys three sanatoriums in Baltics
INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund is acquiring three sanatoriums in the Baltics. [+]
Swiss imaging and lab groups sigh with relief
A new outpatient tariff which would have taken 6-10% points off imaging prices has been kicked down the road for the third time by the byzantine Swiss healthcare system. It would have severely clipped the very high margins enjoyed by many whilst upping prices for primary care. [+]
Interview, Philippe Salah, CEO Dental Monitoring
Philippe Salah tells HBI he likes to keep a low profile. His success with remote dental care group DentalMonitoring, which reached elusive $1bn unicorn status at the end of last year, is making that increasingly difficult. HBI chats to him to find out more about his business model, and his vision of the dental clinic of the future. [+]
RNA Covid vaccines could have adverse non-specific effects
A new meta-analysis study examining the results from Covid vaccine trials suggests a worrying possibility: that mRNA Covid vaccines, despite protecting against Covid, could reduce the immune system's overall ability to fight infections. On the other hand, the study’s findings also suggest the adenovirus Covid vaccines could have the opposite effect. To many this will sound far-fetched, or even the stuff of conspiracy theory, but University of Southern Denmark’s Professor Christine Stabell-Benn, who led the research, explains to HBI that epidemiologists have known for decades that vaccines can have such ‘nonspecific’ effects and emphasises that regulatory frameworks are in dire need of being updated to reflect this. [+]
French police raid Orpea HQ and 30 complaints filed against Korian
Police investigators raided French elderly care group Orpea’s headquarters in Paris and several of its regional offices on Wednesday, June 8, reportedly to ‘carry out checks’ as part of the on-going public investigation into alleged malpractice at the company. Both Orpea and rival Korian’s share prices dropped thereafter. [+]
Rutherford Health to go into liquidation
The for-profit oncology group which holds roughly half the UK's proton beam capacity and has invested over £240m in capex is to go into liquidation, thanks to the pandemic and NHS indifference. In the UK just 1% of acute cancer patients get proton compared to 10% in Europe and 20% in the USA. What is likely to happen next? [+]
Ever decreasing primary care circles
In many countries, getting to see a GP is no easy feat. In a British Social Attitudes survey in 2020, around 51% of people agreed that "it was hard to get an appointment with a GP". [+]
Adoption and drivers of Digital Health Platforms by insurers
This week our infographic shows some of the key findings from the Digital Health Engagement Institute’s (DHEI) survey around the adoption and drivers of Digital Health Engagement Platforms (DHE Platforms) in the life and health insurance industry. [+]
NHS primary care dissatisfaction hits record high, pushing patients private
Increasing numbers of patients are choosing to pay for primary care in the UK, driven by record levels of dissatisfaction with NHS primary care. Patients appear to be especially frustrated about access - and a lack of GPs in Germany and France is also creating problems. HBI chats with primary care operators to find out more. [+]
Interview: Ulla Näpänkangas, CEO, Coronaria Eye Health Finland
HBI catches up with Ulla Näpänkangas, CEO at Finland's Coronaria Eye Health ahead of her appearance at HBI 2022 and hears how innovation in ophthalmology is as much about patient pathways and business models as it is about the tech. [+]
Nigeria approves new health insurance law
Nigeria's new health insurance law will set up a fund to cover the most vulnerable citizens in Africa's most populous country who might otherwise struggle to get medical care. [+]
Interview Nick West, Chief Medical Officer, Global Medical Affairs, Abbott Vascular
Patients, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, have a very different view of how well their treatment went than the physicians who treat them and health care leaders who oversee healthcare delivery. Patients are frustrated from the earliest stages of their care journey, including symptom recognition and definitive disease diagnosis. We talk to Dr. Nick West, the Chief Medical Officer, Global Medical Affairs for Abbott’s Vascular business about the results from Beyond Intervention - a multi-year global research initiative that uncovers the differing perspectives of the patient, the physician, and the healthcare leader. [+]
The monitoring revolution is happening now
Perhaps the most striking conversation we had at the EIT Health conference in Stockholm this week was with Hans Danneels at Belgian startup Byteflies which sells digital monitoring solutions for Covid, coronary and epilepsy that enable patients to stay at home. [+]
Brits adopting wide range of lifestyle changes to improve health - Infographic
This week we look at figures from Bupa UK which has published a new survey on the health of the UK's population: the Bupa Wellbeing Index. 8,000 adults have been surveyed. [+]
Aetna International winding down business and passing clients to Allianz
US insurance giant Aetna is winding down its international private medical insurance (IPMI) arm, Aetna International, after a failed sale attempt. It is looking to pass its health insurance customers outside of the Americas to rival Allianz Partners. [+]
What we learnt at the EIT Health conference
Has Covid reset the pace of change in healthcare and the appetite for reform in Europe? The EIT Health conference in Stockholm was a good opportunity to answer those twin questions. [+]
UK parliamentary committee to examine NHS’ progress on digitalisation
A UK parliamentary committee headed by former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has launched an enquiry into digital transformation in the NHS. MPs will look at how digital technology is currently being used and consider what could be improved. This will include an evaluation of possibilities for greater cooperation between the NHS and the private sector and how this could boost innovation. [+]
Interview: Zeinab Ardeshir, CEO, PillSorted
Zeinab Ardeshir has worked in pharmacy for 17 years in multiple countries, but although she has generally enjoyed this experience, she found that a lot of her time was spent on mundane repetitive tasks which seemed like a waste for someone with her medical knowledge. [+]
Orpea employees strike over decision to not pay bonus
Employees at nursing homes across France operated by beleaguered elderly care group Orpea participated in a strike on Tuesday, to protest the company’s decision to not pay incentive bonuses this year. [+]
Why AI is failing in healthcare
Why has AI failed to deliver on the promises of 3-4 years ago in healthcare? Gemma Galdon, CEO of Ethica Consulting, whose business has audited algorithms for a decade, explains why at the EIT Health Conference and looks at why so many algorithms are flawed. [+]
Social bond finances for-profit diabetes prevention
A Swedish pension fund is investing via a social bond in a programme that aims to stop unfit 50-60 year olds in Stockholm developing diabetes 2 and other expensive conditions. The scheme, run by a start up, is set to roll out more widely in Sweden and internationally. Bogi Eliasen, Director of Health at the Copenhagen Institute For Futures Studies says that Scandinavian countries, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are all keen to up prevention spend and are looking at similar schemes. [+]
Kry laying off 10% of its staff
Stockholm-based digital health player Kry is laying off 10% of its 1,000-strong workforce to reassure its investors and its partners in trying times for the market. [+]
Warsaw hub model set to spread across CEE
A new Warsaw Health Innovation Hub in Poland has seen 30 big pharma and medtech contribute brains and money to tackle healthcare projects, extending the cooperation which developed during Covid between the government and the private sector. Healthcare providers are set to join. The model is likely to be adopted by other CEE countries. [+]
Metropolis Healthcare looks to sell stake
HBI understands that India-based lab group Metropolis Healthcare is looking to raise $300m from the sale of a minority stake. [+]
Optimistic confusion over EU's new Health Data Space
There was quiet confidence about the proposed, new European Health Data Space (EHDS) from European Commission staff at the EIT Health Conference 2022 in Stockholm this week. The scheme should make it much easier to use health data for scientific research. But implementation could be tortuous. [+]
IDH sells DD Group
The owner of UK-based dental specialist IDH, Palamon Capital, is selling DD Group (formerly Dental Directory), its UK and Ireland-based dental and medical aesthetics distributer and service provider. Palamon says this concludes phase one of its investment plan to return IDH to a pure-play dental service. [+]
A new threat emerges as Covid recedes
At the start of the year as people increasingly learned to live with the threat of Covid, there was a general feeling of optimism. Deals were being done. Travel resumed. It was business as usual - with some pent-up demand to boot. But with medical costs rising, a new row is brewing that could derail all this good will. [+]
Orpea share price plummet could make it a bigger takeover target
French elderly care group Orpea saw its shares fall to a new low on Wednesday after new accusations regarding its financial structure, alleging irregularities, were made against the company. The current share price of around €24 makes the company ever more likely to be subject to a takeover bid. Orpea says those "likely to be involved in these frauds" were "immediately" removed - and points out the allegations do not relate to patient care. [+]
Vitaldent acquisition shows shift to aesthetics
Spanish / Italian dentistry network VitalDent has incorporated its latest acquisition, 73 clinics previously owned by Smysecret. The acquisition marks a deliberate move to aesthetics targeting the 18-35 age group and adds significantly to its burgeoning business. [+]
Althea to be sold to Inframedica Sarl
Private equity firm Permira has agreed to sell healthcare equipment service provider Althea to oncology platform Inframedica Sarl, which is owned by infrastructure investors F2i and DWS. [+]
Inflow of doctors to Europe's top five healthcare markets - Infographic
Migration of health care workforce frequently makes headline news, but in this infographic we use OECD data to take a closer look at the inflow of doctors in to the top five European healthcare markets since 2015. We then provide a breakdown of country of origin for those countries in the last reported year. [+]
KKR going ahead with Ramsay bid
Private equity firm KKR has reconfirmed its AU$88 per share offer for multinational hospital group Ramsay Health Care after completing due diligence on the company last week, HBI understands. It will now begin due diligence on Ramsay’s 52.79% stake in its subsidiary Ramsay Générale de Santé, which could take another few weeks. The deal still has to be approved by the French Competition Authority (FCA), which could take issue over the fact that KKR owns a 43% stake in Elsan, Ramsay Santé's largest competitor in France. [+]
Inflation hikes up care home costs
How will the care home sector cope with the wave of inflation now hitting it as staff, energy costs and rents soar? We talk to operators and advisers across Europe. [+]
New women only consultancy Nuada breaking the mould in Turkey
Two pioneering women entrepreneurs are looking to break the mould in the male dominated Turkish healthcare market, with a women-only consultancy team. HBI talks to them about how they are challenging stereotypes. [+]
Interview, Sneh Khemka, SimplyHealth
HBI speaks with Sneh Khemka, HBI 2022 panellist and CEO of UK-based cash plan group Simplyhealth, to hear why he thinks it is time for groups like his to step out of the shadows. [+]
European nursing homes - a five market comparison - Infographic
This week we take a closer look at how the elderly residential nursing home market stacks up, specifically in five major European markets - France, Spain, Germany, Italy and UK. Here we compare the total, and for profit and public/not-for-profit market revenues, and look at where the international operators have the largest revenues. These figures are a snapshot of the position based on revenues in 2020 taken from our nursing homes reports in HBI Intelligence and the operator database. [+]
German health minister plans to introduce 'health kiosks' across country
German health minister Karl Lauterbach plans to expand roll out 'health kiosks', currently in some German cities, across the country as part of his plan to prepare for the next Covid wave. [+]
German government pushing ahead with cannabis legalisation
The German health minister is pressing ahead with plans to legalise cannabis, despite concerns from some quarters that it could be challenged at the EU level, and unresolved questions about what the regulatory framework will look like. HBI speaks to legal and policy experts, and hears that medical cannabis producers have an early adopter advantage against potential rivals - and there are health implications if legislation passes. [+]
Exponential revenue growth fails to restore investor confidence in Babylon and Teladoc
Babylon and Teladoc, two of the world’s largest telehealth providers, have grown exponentially over the past few years, with Teladoc doubling its revenue and Babylon quadrupling its revenue in 2021. Q1 results show a continuation of this trend. Yet both group’s share prices have fallen around 90% over the past two years. We explore whether the market is right to be betting against these two expanding giants. [+]
Interview: Joe Stringer, partner, Octopus Ventures
Joe Stringer, healthcare investment specialist, and partner at Octopus Ventures which invests in and supports start-up businesses across Europe, talks to HBI about his approach to investment ahead of his panel appearance at HBI 2022. [+]
Who owns your medical data?
Who owns your medical data? Are you happy for researchers and policy makers to have access to your records, and content they have been sufficiently redacted so as to render you anonymous? And is that even the point – it is still your data after all, isn’t it? [+]
Proposed EU data sharing framework ‘will save €11bn’
The European Commission has put forward a proposal for a new legal framework to regulate the sharing of health data across the EU which it says could save the healthcare sector €11bn over ten years. The proposal is subject to review by the European Council and Parliament but could come into force in 2025. [+]
Interview: Stéphane Pichon, founding managing partner, Your Care Consult
HBI catches up with Stéphane Pichon, founding managing partner, Your Care Consult, and chair of the Investing in Healthcare Property session at HBI 2022 on June 21, to find out how the healthcare property market fared last year, and prospects for the future. [+]
Bupa Australia accuses Ramsay of strategic price hikes as Ramsay terminates partnership
The Australian branch of multinational hospital giant Ramsay Health Care has terminated its partnership with insurer Bupa, meaning Bupa-insured patients in Australia will have to pay out-of-pocket for its care. Bupa Australia subsequently accused Ramsay of “unreasonably high" price increases, claiming this was done to increase the group’s value in light of its on-going sale process. Meanwhile, Ramsay has reported poor financial results and analysts from investment bank Citigroup have said limited additional value could be squeezed out of the group, and that a higher bid than KKR's is therefore unlikely. [+]
Dentex sale: Runners and riders, price and multiple
HBI hears that the sale of UK-based private dental partnership network Dentex is underway, and catches up with a well-placed source to find out more about first-round bidders and pricing. [+]
Do healthcare CEOs actually need a background in healthcare
Do you need a background in the business of healthcare to be a successful healthcare CEO? Orpea clearly thinks not given its latest appointment - and it is not alone in this view. [+]
Interview: Kalle Conneryd-Lundgren, new chief clinical operations officer, Kry
HBI chats with Kalle Conneryd-Lundgren, the new chief clinical operations officer at Stockholm-based digital health player Kry, to find out about his plans for the group and the market in general. [+]
Avoidable mortality - Infographic
In this infographic based on data from the WHO mortality database, we look at preventable mortality in OECD countries - which should be a guide to which areas payors might want to pay particular attention to when funding healthcare systems, and how much weight to ascribe to each area. [+]
Lusiadas Saude sale latest
HBI hears that there has been progress in the sale of Lusiadas Saude, Portugal’s third-largest hospital group by revenue. [+]
Two new rival hospitals open in central London
This week UK healthcare charity Nuffield Trust opened a hospital in its first central London site, located within the grounds of Barts Health NHS Trust’s St Bartholomew’s Hospital site, while Cleveland Clinic last week opened a large facility in Grosvenor Place, also in central London. [+]
Octopus Real Estate enters specialist care market
Healthcare property investor Octopus Real Estate is entering the specialist care market, spending £100m on a deal to purchase two sites from and finance the construction of a further four sites for UK care provider The Hamberley Care Group. Four of these sites will be rehab centres and two will be care homes. [+]
Sri Lankan healthcare sector in crisis as government hikes medicine prices to combat shortages
Sri Lanka’s government has increased the price of several pharmaceutical products that are in short supply by 40%, as the country’s healthcare system is crippled by the on-going economic crisis in the country. [+]
Diaverum launches holiday booking platform
Global renal care provider Diaverum is launching a digital platform for holiday dialysis booking. HBI speaks with Bruno Pamplona Polizio, director of global communications at Diaverum, to learn more. [+]
Orpea appoints elderly care novice as CEO, share price dips
French nursing home giant Orpea has appointed a new CEO, as part of its attempt at reformation. This comes a week after initial findings from an external investigation into purported malpractice at the company identified multiple cases of administrative misdemeanours. [+]
A common challenge - but is the obvious answer really unachievable?
Almost everywhere we look in healthcare we find workforce challenges, whether it is lack of supply or burnout (or both, especially during Covid) and it doesn't matter whether we are talking public or for-profit. [+]
Dutch government looks to pull funding from nursing homes
Dutch elderly care is seeing a very definite government-backed shift away from nursing homes and towards care at home, with increasing reluctance for the public purse to pay for the 'hotel' component of care. HBI speaks to advisor Rune Aresvik from Vardetun, who has just completed a detailed review of the sector, to find out if this is a problem or an opportunity [+]
Affidea deal - underbidders and EBITDA
HBI hears that the surprise buyer of European imaging and cancer treatment provider Affidea, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) may not have been the highest bidder, despite winning out. HBI considers who else was in the running, and the EBITDA figure that may have been used for the deal. [+]
Unilabs invests €45 million in its Portuguese imaging operation
Pan-European diagnostics services provider Unilabs has invested €45 million in its Portuguese imaging operations. HBI speaks with Luíz Menezes, CEO at Unilabs Portugal, to learn more. [+]
Telehealth growth pushing valuations and multiples to new heights - Infographic
Whilst the number of M&A transactions in the telehealth sector hasn’t seen huge growth, the sector has seen a meteoric rise over the past few years, especially since Covid. In this week’s infographic we look at the growth in revenue of Europe’s largest five telehealth providers and at how the revenue multiples from the valuations telehealth companies receive in M&A transactions has changed. [+]
Hungary facing four more years of Orbanomics
After the crushing victory of national-conservative Fidesz, led by Viktor Orban, the Hungarian healthcare sector awaits another four years of “Orbanomics”. HBI speaks with a Hungarian contact to learn more. [+]
Could Andalusian deal mean Spanish PPPs are back in favour?
Andalusian authorities have signed a contract with Spanish for-profit hospital group Clínicas Pascual which will see the regional government financing five Andalusian-based hospitals owned by the company. HBI speaks with Spanish consultant Ignacio Riesgo to find out what, if anything, this signifies for the market. [+]
Orpea audit's initial findings suggest administrative mischief, but no abuse of residents
Initial provisional findings from the external investigation into French nursing home giant Orpea which it launched in response to accusations of malpractice at the company made by journalist Victor Castanet in “Les Fossoyeurs” (“The Gravediggers”) have confirmed some of the book’s allegations, including alleged incident(s) of questionable financial relationships with certain suppliers, "erroneous" use-of-funds statements, "noncompliance" with employment contracts and "use of intermediaries”. The company has decided to delay publication of its 2021 annual report till May 13. [+]
Interview: Katya Zubareva, Partner, L.E.K.
HBI catches up with Katya Zubareva, partner at L.E.K. Consulting, ahead of her appearance on the fertility panel at HBI 2022. In a wide-ranging conversation, she tells us that despite workforce being a consistent challenge to the healthcare services sector, there are some big opportunities. [+]
Finnish telehealth group VideoVisit bought with plans to expand internationally
Main Capital Partners, a European private equity group focused on investing into enterprise software companies, has bought a majority stake in Finnish telehealth provider VideoVisit. The company plans to expand internationally. [+]
Ramsay Santé seals GHP acquisition with 96.6% of shares
Ramsay Santé, the European branch of multinational hospital giant Ramsay Healthcare, has sealed the deal for its acquisition of listed Swedish specialty care provider GHP Specialty Care, having obtained 96.6% of its shares before the closing of the initial acceptance period on Friday, April 22. [+]
Interview: Giuseppe Recchi, CEO, Affidea
In light of multinational diagnostic imaging provider Affidea's recent acquisition of Brust Zentrum, a Zurich-based breast cancer care provider, we speak to CEO Giuseppe Recchi about the company's vision to create a pan-European polydiagnostic outpatient platform. [+]
These aren't green shoots of recovery. This is a tree
If anyone was looking for green shoots of recovery in the healthcare services M&A, they wouldn't have had to look very far this week. Deals for European imaging and cancer treatment provider Affidea and fast-growing German and Swiss ophthalmology group Sanoptis, together with a multi-billion euro bid for Australia-based multinational hospital giant Ramsay Health Care are set to give the sector a real boost. [+]
Navigating the Netherlands: A payor guide - Infographic
The healthcare system in the Netherlands can be a bit of a minefield for those unfamiliar with its quirks. Limits on the payment of dividends mean what companies are and are not willing to do differ from other countries, and who pays for what can get confusing. This week we look at how the elderly care system is financed with information from advisor Rune Aresvik from Vardetun. [+]
Elsan’s digital approach to primary care
Paris-based hospital group Elsan says it will open two “highly digitised” primary care facilities by the end of the year in cooperation with Livi, the developer of the e-health platform owned by the Swedish startup Kry. HBI speaks with Thierry Chiche, CEO at Elsan and Jonathan Ardouin, Managing Director at Livi France, to learn more. [+]
Orpea opens mental health centre for elderly in Madrid
Elderly care giant Orpea’s hispanic branch, Orpea Iberica, is opening its first mental health centre catering exclusively to over 65s in Madrid. [+]
Sanoptis sells to unexpected buyer
As predicted by HBI earlier this year, fast-growing German and Swiss ophthalmology group Sanoptis has sold - but to an unexpected buyer. Owner Telemos Capital has signed an agreement to sell to family-backed investment holding company Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL), the same group which has also just agreed to buy a majority stake in European imaging and cancer treatment provider Affidea. [+]
Back to black: APAC providers returning to profitability, and investing in innovation
As L.E.K. Consulting publishes its APAC report entitled Asia-Pacific Hospital Priorities: Strategic Implications for Healthcare Providers, HBI catches up with its Shanghai-based partner Stephen Sunderland to discuss key trends in the region. [+]
Group led by KKR bids US$15bn for Ramsay
A group led by global US-based investment firm KKR has bid around US$15bn for Australia-based multinational hospital giant Ramsay. [+]
Affidea bought by Groupe Bruxelles Lambert
Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (“GBL”) has signed definitive agreements to acquire a majority stake in European imaging and cancer treatment provider Affidea from B-FLEXION, the private investment firm of the Switzerland-based billionaire Bertarelli family. GBL will invest up to €1bn of equity for the transaction which is its first substantive healthcare investment. [+]
Artemis founder speaks out after damning documentary on primetime TV
A primetime ‘exposé’ of how private equity operates in the German ophthalmology market had some of its largest operators in its crosshairs last week. We talk to the founder of Artemis Augenkliniken, who was interviewed on camera, and a specialist healthcare lawyer, for their take on hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons. [+]
Karl Lauterbach u-turns on voluntary quarantine and loses mandatory vaccine vote
Last week was a rough one for German health minister Karl Lauterbach. First he made an embarrassing u-turn on his decision to end mandatory Covid quarantines and then his government's proposal to introduce mandatory vaccinations, which he has been championing since entering office, was rejected by legislators. [+]
Mediclinic returns to growth in FY22
A strong performance at home saw South African hospital group Mediclinic's revenue grow 8% in the financial year ending March 31, 2022 and its EBITDA margin move up two percentage points to 16%. [+]
For-profit dentistry consolidation in Europe - Infographic
This week, we look at the extent to which the for-profit dentistry market is consolidated in five major European countries – France, Germany, UK, Spain and Italy. These figures are a snapshot of the position based on revenues in 2020 taken from HBI Intelligence - and show why interest in dentistry is so high. [+]
Fight or flight?
When faced with a life threatening situation, a boost of adrenalin surges through the body and triggers a fight or flight reflex. Recently, we’ve observed a similar situation where companies have been hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons. [+]
Spanish nursing home bed boom forecast
According to new research, the Spanish nursing home market is forecast to grow by 6.5%, increasing to over 400,000 beds over the next 18 months to two years. HBI speaks with Alberto Fernandez, CEO at Healthcare Activos, a Madrid-based health and long-term care real estate investor, who questions whether the report goes far enough. [+]
Le Pen's plans for French healthcare
The next round of the French election is just two weeks off, and unexpectedly the race between Marine Le Pen and incumbent Emmanuel Macron is closer than many predicted. HBI asks, what would a Le Pen government mean for for-profit healthcare? [+]
Cybersecurity double interview: Trevor Dearing (Illumio) and Ed Williams (Trustwave)
The number of ransomware attacks targeting the healthcare sector is increasing exponentially. Multiple recent surveys have found that it is now one of the most targeted sectors of the economy, with as many as one in three of the world’s healthcare organisations being targeted in 2020. This poses a major threat not just to healthcare organisations' finances but also lives. We speak to two cybersecurity experts to find out what healthcare operators can do to protect themselves and their patients. [+]
Attend Anywhere (mostly) retains grip on NHS outpatient telehealth
UK telehealth provider Attend Anywhere saw 94% of its one-year NHS contracts that were up for tender renewed this month, with the majority of the renewed contracts being for two or three years. This means it will remain the major provider of telehealth services to NHS outpatient departments for at least the next two years. [+]
Ardian "looking to sell Inovie stake"
Last week we reported that French lab group Inovie is currently in the process of looking for a new majority shareholder. Could private equity fund Ardian be looking to sell its (minority) stake. [+]
Atrys: What's the focus?
No listed health care group in Europe has grown anything like as fast as Atrys Health, which now spans Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and four Latin American countries. But does its M&A strategy have any coherence? We talk to Atrys CFO Josep Maria Huch. [+]
Fresenius Helios launches revolutionary primary care offer
Fresenius Helios plans to become the first and only global health care service player by rolling out its Curalie telehealth plus a prefab diagnostic unit (the Cube) starting in Vietnam in October. Deals are being struck with governments in Ghana and Kenya for the group to offer primary care for €10 per cap. to millions. We talk to Fresenius Helios CEO Franceso de Meo. [+]
Interview: Simon Turton, Gensmile
At the height of Covid, NHS-focussed dental practices calmly told HBI that their revenues were covered by government payments, and their dental activity targets had been slashed or temporarily abandoned. It was a good time to have a strong NHS patient bias. HBI speaks to Simon Turton, CEO and co-founder of UK dental chain Gensmile and panellist at HBI 2022, to hear how the tide may be turning in favour of private funding. [+]
Perceived healthcare quality in 2021 by country - Infographic
This week we looked at perceived healthcare quality across selected European countries last year based on research conducted by market research company IPSOS. [+]
Medica returned to form in 2021 thanks to elective care rebound
After a rough 2020, the UK’s largest teleradiology company, Medica, achieved strong results in 2021, with sales reaching £62m (a 68% increase from 2020 and a 33% increase from 2019), and a healthy 19.5% operating margin. We speak to CEO Stuart Quin to find out more. [+]
€4bn Inovie looking for majority shareholder
French lab group Inovie is looking for a new majority stakeholder off a €4bn+ enterprise value, HBI hears. Inovie is currently working with financial advisers to determine interest from potential buyers. [+]
An NHS bias could become a post-pandemic kick in the teeth for dentists
During the pandemic, we've had a lot of conversations with dental operators in the UK with NHS focussed businesses. Universally, they have been happy with their lot. "We're getting paid in full" they told us - subject to a small clawback - "and we don't have to see patients". [+]
Satisfaction with UK NHS “at lowest in 25 years”
Two reports published two months apart give differing views on the reputation of the UK NHS which, according to one, is at the lowest since 1997. Which is right? [+]
Interview: Dirk Knüppel, Meine Radiologie
Imaging and radiology is hot at the moment - especially in Germany. The next five years are going to see a huge amount of consolidation according to Dirk Knüppel, CEO at EQT-backed Meine Radiologie & Blikk Holding (MRBH) and HBI 2022 panellist. HBI caught up with him to find out more about his group's plans to expand across Europe. [+]
New report says the digital revolution will be painful - especially for staff
Healthcare digitisation will change the nature of what it means to be a doctor or nurse, undermining many employees' sense of work satisfaction, according to a new report by Netherlands-based medical research publisher Elsevier. HBI speaks with Charles Alessi, one of the report’s authors, to find out more. [+]
Turkish groups look for lira depreciation workarounds
The Turkish Lira has been consistently depreciating, losing three-quarters of its US dollar value in the last five years. HBI speaks with an operator source, as well as consultants and operators from Turkey, to find out their strategy to hedge against a worsening exchange rate. [+]
Partnering to build a regional network
We explore how you best build partnerships with fiercely independent regional hospitals with Tad Morley, Executive Director of Outreach & Network Development at the University of Utah Health. That involves a lot of trust, telemedicine and the discipline of KPIs. [+]
Karolinska unlocks collaboration between hospital and research
Trapped in silos, European university hospitals and their twinned research institutes are exploring better ways of working together. Karolinska Institute and the Karolinska University Hospital have created a new 50/50 joint venture, PMCK - Precision Medicine Center Karolinska. We talk to acting director Anna Wedell about how this will unlock profound collaboration. [+]
Blog: Twinning isn't good enough
Historically, university hospitals in Europe have been paired with research institutes in a separate twinned relationship. The harsh truth is this doesn't work well. If Europe is to emulate the success of Boston's biotech hub we need unified structures where scientists and physicians work side-by-side for the same employer. Here we look at attempts in Berlin and Stockholm to do just that. [+]
Interview: Andrew Cowley, Impact Healthcare REIT
Listed UK nursing home REIT Impact Healthcare achieved strong 2021 financial results. We speak to managing partner Andrew Cowley to find out about the strategy behind this success. [+]
Most major healthcare stocks see fall in Q1 - Infographic
Eleven out of 14 major listed healthcare groups saw their share values decrease in the first quarter of 2022, in spite of (or perhaps in some cases because of) Covid restrictions being lifted in multiple countries. [+]
Is the EU speeding towards FDA-style regulation?
There is a new threat to healthcare companies across Europe which, HBI hears, has the potential to be more impactful than either Covid or Brexit as far as costs are concerned. [+]
French government demands repayment from Orpea
The French state says it is taking legal action against under-fire nursing home giant Orpea, and demanding the group repays public money which it alleges was misused. The decision follows the findings of a public inquiry into alleged malpractice. [+]
Rodericks "buying Dental Partners from August Equity"
HBI hears from multiple sources that NHS-focussed UK dental group Rodericks Dental is set to buy UK rival Dental Partners from London-based private equity August Equity. [+]
Aevis results suggest a return to normality
Swiss investment group Aevis Victoria achieved strong financial results in 2021, thanks in large part to sales of stakes in hospital group Swiss Medical Network and ambulance group Swiss Ambulance Rescue Genève and a return to normality seen in both the healthcare and hospitality sectors. [+]
Google nudges into booking and scheduling space
Could the bubble be bursting for digital scheduling companies as Google nudges its way in with a new booking feature specifically for healthcare? We take a closer look at what Google's latest plans might mean for the industry. [+]
Interview: Simon Masters, Deputy challenge director of Future Flight at Innovate UK
The UK’s healthcare sector is on the cusp of an aviation revolution that will see the widespread introduction of advanced drones for delivering medical goods to the remotest parts of the country, and possibly new types of flying ambulances deployed. We speak to Simon Masters, deputy challenge director of Future Flight Challenge, to find out more. [+]
Healthcare Activos targets Portugal, Germany and Italy as it seals long-term investor deal
Healthcare Activos has new investors as of today - and big plans for tomorrow and beyond. HBI catches up with its clearly enthused founder and executive chairman Jorge Guarner and CEO Albert Fernandez to find out more about their plans for expansion. [+]
IHH offers US$1.35bn for Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare
Asia's largest for-profit healthcare group IHH Healthcare has made a buyout offer to Malaysian-based hospital group Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care (RSDHD) of US$1.35bn. [+]
KKR set to acquire IVI-RMA
Multiple sources say US-based buyout specialist KKR is close to closing a deal to buy Spain-based global fertility player IVI-RMA, the largest group in the sector by revenue. [+]
Interview: Tim Clover, Rayner
HBI catches up with Tim Clover, CEO of UK-based ophthalmic medical products specialist Rayner, ahead of his appearance as a panellist at HBI 2022. He is excited about the Covid bounceback and hot new tech, but warns new regulations will impact heavily on everyone's costs. [+]
Shanghai lockdown will hit premium providers the most
As China's biggest city Shanghai faces a staggered Covid lockdown, HBI catches up with a Chinese healthcare expert who tells us that premium international operators could be significantly hit. [+]
HBI Deals+Insights briefing April 2022: Connect members
Please log in to see your Deals+Insights for April, Connect edition. [+]
Infermedica targets the USA for expansion
Infermedica, the Polish health tech start-up, will expand its US investments, thanks to the funding gained in a recent Series B financing round. HBI talks with Miłosz Wiciński, Business Development Executive at Infermedica, to learn more. [+]
Big may not be so beautiful after all?
We've previously written blogs about how big, when it comes to companies, is beautiful. Controlling the pipeline by vertical integration, diversifying into other areas and spreading risk, and not having all of your business eggs in one geographical basket is generally seen to be a good thing. So why are we increasingly seeing businesses focussing on their core markets - and looking to sell of anything considered more peripheral? [+]
For-profit oncology consolidation in Europe - Infographic
This week, we look at the extent to which the for-profit oncology market is consolidated in four major European markets – France, Germany, UK and Spain. These figures are a snapshot of the position based on revenues in 2020 taken from HBI Intelligence. [+]
Doctolib France's biggest Unicorn
Now the largest unicorn in France, Doctolib is valued at €5.8b, three years after it reached unicorn status, despite still making a loss. HBI speaks to a French healthcare consultant and expert to find out how. [+]
How can you build a successful health care science cluster in Europe?
Europe, with its often rigorous divides between research institutes and university hospitals, has fallen a long way behind power houses such as MIT/Harvard/Mass General in the generation of applied medical science. So how do you build a successful healthcare science cluster in Europe? [+]
"For sale" Fresenius creates new $2.4bn business
As Germany-based healthcare conglomerate Fresenius looks to simplify the group's structure, selling off non-core parts of a business which currently spans hospitals, dialysis, pharma, rehabilitation and more, it is building a $2.4bn new business partnership in the US. We speak to an EU-based source familiar with Fresenius to put this all in context. [+]
Unilabs sale completes
AP Moller Holding, the investment company owned by the billionaire Maersk family, has closed the purchase of global lab and imaging chain Unilabs. [+]
Icade Sante considering H2 for IPO attempt part deux
At the end of last year, healthcare specialist REIT Icade Santé looked to fall victim to capital markets' apathy for European healthcare services, postponing its IPO. Could it be looking to try again in H2 2022 - or is it too soon to try? [+]
Circle Health sponsors work visas for Ukrainian refugees fleeing war
For-profit UK hospital groups are working on their responses to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Circle Health is to sponsor up to 500 work visas for Ukrainian refugees across its 54 sites in the UK. We find out more about the plan, and approach other large providers in the UK to find out what they are doing. [+]
IHH Healthcare shows growth
Malaysia and Singapore based Asia-focussed IHH Healthcare’s 2021 results show dynamic growth. Turkish groups are being impacted by the depreciation of the lira, but while revenue from domestic patients in Turkish subsidiary Acibadem shrank between 2017 and 2020, it grew in 2021, up 16.9% year-on-year. [+]
Merger set to create €2bn revenue German hospital giant
Two of Germany’s largest not-for-profit hospitals are set to merge and form a chain to rival the likes of Helios, Sana Kliniken and Asklepios. Should these large for-profits be worried? HBI speaks with Dr Günter Merschbächer, Managing Director at one of the groups, not-for-profit Marienhaus, to find out more. [+]
French government targets care homes for further regulation
Following the recent outrage about care homes in France, the French government plans to introduce further measures to improve evaluation and transparency. [+]
Subscription Healthcare: Seizing the Opportunity, HBI 2022
Almost every healthcare operator wants to move from delivering episodes of care to more continuous care delivery with much more constant patient touch. Ultimately that enables the sale of a continuous subscription and so much higher quality earnings. That is one reason why outpatient chains like Terveystalo and Medicover trade considerably higher than hospital groups. [+]
PKV campaigns for generational-fair insurance reforms in Germany
The PKV Association which represents private health insurers in Germany is working for better generation-fair financing of care and a sustainable healthcare workforce. [+]
Big year for Atrys Health
Spanish multinational diagnostics and radiotherapy group Atrys Health has a phenomenal final year on the BMEGrowth market, before making the jump to the main Spanish stock exchange in February 2022. [+]
Madrid puts mental health services out to tender
Madrid's regional government is putting out €29.5m of its mental health services to tender. [+]
Will record results for Synlab precipitate Cinven sale?
Almost a year after its IPO, lab giant Synlab has posted strong FY21 results bolstered by Covid, but not, it says, dependant on it. Management say extra cash will be used as a springboard for growth. Could it also lead to private equity majority shareholder Cinven selling its remaining interest? [+]
Interview: Dagmar Dvorakova, CEO and Prof. Dr. Roland Staudinger, managing director, Aquilia Health Group
Smart reha, medical malls, how to best deploy new medtech, Fresenius Vamed veterans both, Dagmar and Roland are full of ideas on how to best build and run health care service models from acute hospitals to rehab and outpatient. Two and a half years ago they quit the mothership to set up Aquila which now employs 45 and runs projects in China, SE Asia, Austria, Germany and the Czech Rep. [+]
How do you build a successful health care science cluster in Europe?
How do you build a successful healthcare science cluster in Europe? If anyone can answer that question it is Professor Nikolaus Rajewsky, the jean-jacketed founder of the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB) and of the Cell Hospital. [+]
How Maastricht UMC+ is moving into population health management
Population health management is the new mantra for many healthcare systems. Maastricht UMC+ in the Netherlands has been doing it for years, building a stronger primary health network called primary 1.5. We talk to UMC+ CEO Helen Mertens. [+]
Aevis sells stake in Medgate
Swiss investment group Aevis Victoria is selling its stake in Medgate, Switzerland’s largest telehealth player. German international trading and service company Otto Group is becoming the majority shareholder. [+]
CareTech founders looking to delist
The founders of listed UK specialist social care group Caretech are hatching a scheme to take the company private, HBI hears. Meanwhile, the UK's competition watchdog says child social care companies are making 'excessive profits'. [+]
Private providers ‘not worried’ by new Swedish government
Sweden has a new centre left Social Democratic government, headed by Magdalena Andersson, Sweden’s first female prime minister. What does this mean for the country’s private healthcare sector? [+]
Women leading in health care
The health care sector is dominated by women. They make up around 70% of the health care workforce - so why are there so few in senior leadership positions? [+]
France announces more stringent care home controls
The French government has announced new quality measures to oversee the care of elderly residents by institutions in France. [+]
Merger creates large NHS outsourcing and insourcing group
Listed UK outpatient group Totally is buying the entire share capital of Pioneer Healthcare Limited, a provider of specialist NHS secondary care insourcing and outsourcing services. [+]
Cera Care enters mainland Europe, plans international expansion
UK-based digital-focused healthcare-at-home company Cera Care is branching out into mainland Europe. [+]
Ramsay makes eye-watering bid for GHP
Ramsay Santé, the European branch of multinational hospital giant Ramsay Healthcare, has made a bid for listed Swedish specialty care provider GHP Specialty Care. [+]
Is German Digital Health Care Act an under-used failure?
In 2019, Germay passed a new law designed to revolutionize the e-health market by reimbursing therapeutic apps. Why hasn't it had more of an impact? HBI speaks with Sven Jungmann, Chief Medical Officer in Berlin-based corporate venture builderFoundersLane, to find out. [+]
Spanish nursing home market recovering well from Covid cooling
Ever-busy Colisee is set to rent five Spanish care homes from Adriano Care Socimi. HBI speaks with Carlos Araoz, a partner at Adriano, to find out more about the market. [+]
Lim and others eye up IVIRMA
Singapore billionaire Peter Lim is said to be in talks to buy IVIRMA, the Euro-American fertility player where big private equity is expected to bid high. HBI understands other bidders may include KKR, Carlyle and Cinven. [+]
Interview: Bernard Ross, CEO, Sky Medical Technology
Bernard Ross began his career in the pharmaceutical sector, working on licensing and taking early stage ideas through the development process. In the early noughties, a couple of bright doctors he knew in the UK gave him an idea for a medical device invention which he thought had huge potential. [+]
Investors choose between Affidea and IVI RMA
Big private equity players in health care face a choice as to whether to go for Pan-European imaging group Affidea which is for sale through Goldman Sachs or for IVI RMA, the international fertility group. [+]
UK self-pay "almost doubles" to a potential 15m
The self-pay market in the UK is growing much faster than other parts of the private sector. Justin Ash, CEO of the UK’s second largest for-profit hospital group, Spire Healthcare, tells us it almost doubled to 15m people in the past two years, and will only continue to grow in the face of the NHS backlog. [+]
Here's to Sophie!
Media firestorms exposing poor treatment in for-profit nursing homes have occurred frequently over the last decade. Normally companies respond by chucking their CEOs or by sitting tight-lipped and threatening to sue. Not Sophie Boissard at Korian. [+]
Consolidating German outpatient rehabilitation market
Gimv-owned rehaneo has just completed its seventh acquisition in 18 months. What are the attractions of the German outpatient rehabilitation market? [+]
PKV to stay
The German health care sector is breathing a sigh of relief at the news that the private PKV insurance that covers 11pc of Germans is most unlikely to be abolished by the new government. Karl Lauterbach, a fierce. critic of the parallel system who had previously described PKV as "brown coal" says its reform is a very low priority. [+]
India's Unicorns and Soonicorns - Infographic
India’s health startups have attracted crazy levels of investment, creating five unicorns in a year, with more to follow. HBI takes a closer look. [+]
Residential care costs of dementia care soar
Alzheimer’s is one of the world’s most expensive diseases, costing around $1 trillion per year globally, research estimates. As cases are forecast to triple by 2050, this figure is only going to increase. To make matters worse, new research suggests that the per-person cost of treatment is also growing. [+]
Cerba buys clinical pathology group Yourlab
Cerba Healthcare, France’s largest laboratory group by revenue, has acquired Yourlab, a medium-sized clinical pathology company based in the west of France. [+]
Orpea and Korian's share prices boosted by hidden camera exposé
Both Korian and Orpea’s share prices increased more than 10% after the release of investigative TV show Cash Investigation’s hidden camera episode revealing scenes inside a Korian nursing home. Meanwhile Orpea’s expansion into Russia has been halted after last week’s invasion of Ukraine and French public investment bank Bpifrance pulled out. [+]
Sector reacts to invasion on Ukraine
How are for-profit health care groups being affected by and reacting to the Russian invasion of Ukraine? Some are providing free services to refugees, others are supporting Ukrainian armed forces. HBI speaks to Michał Rybak, CFO at Lux Med, leading Polish for-profit operator and Konstantin Lebediev, an expert on private healthcare in Ukraine and a former General Manager of the first private hospital in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). [+]
Asset heavy versus asset light
The big battalions of health care - nursing homes and hospitals - look cheap compared to outpatient. [+]
Covid disruptions reduce Ramsay profits by 30%
Australian multi-national hospital group Ramsay saw steady sales but sharply decreasing earnings in the last six months of 2021. The company says this was due to Covid disruptions, whilst underlying demand for healthcare services remains strong. [+]
Orpea won't stop nursing home M&A drive
Orpea's smaller PE-backed French rivals who are spilling out across Europe say they are not worried by the Orpea scandal. Colissee has just acquired in Portugal for the first time. HBI talks to the C-level at the French operator to learn more. [+]
Health care tourism market recovering fast in Thailand
Thai healthcare tourism is set to recover in 2022, after the dive caused by the restrictions in international traffic caused by the COVID pandemic, say analysts. We look at the results for listed hospital group Bumrungrad, which has built its business on medical tourism and cares for over 1.1m patients a year from 190 countries, and talk to Kasem Prunratanmala, Head of Equity Research at Principal Malaysia Titans Plus Fund. [+]
Eurofins to build lab hubs
After a strong performance in 2021, international lab group Eurofins plans to build diagnostic lab hubs, which will enable it to increase the volume of tested samples. HBI talks with the source close to the company to find out more. [+]
Brazil, the only way is vertical! - Infographic
Payor/provider vertical integration is the most successful strategy in Brazil according to our experts. 2022 February finally saw the merger of the two Brazilian giants of vertical integration, Grupo Notredame Intermédica (GNDI) is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Hapvida. Together they became the second largest health care company in the southern hemisphere and currently have a market cap of US$17.2bn and approximately 17% of the Healthcare Plan insurance market, according to experts. [+]
Korian launches transformation into ‘mission-led’ company
French elderly care giant Korian is having to walk a fine line between reporting a return to strong revenue and earnings growth in 2021 whilst simultaneously affirming its commitment to always putting the welfare of its residents and quality of care first. The approach it has adopted is to herald the launch of a new strategy: to become a ‘mission-led’ company! Meanwhile Orpea has postponed its annual results until at last as April 30. [+]
Circle partners with GE Healthcare
Circle Health, the UK’s largest for-profit hospital group, has partnered with global medtech company GE Healthcare, in a 10-year deal that will see GE provide equipment, software and consulting services. GE Healthcare’s general manager of EMEA solutions, John Deverill, explains why such deals are becoming increasingly common. [+]
Fresenius break up debate goes public
Giant health care conglomerate Fresenius SE has publicly floated the possibility of bringing minority equity shareholders in at the level of divisions such as Vamed or Helios in its 2021 results announcement. It has even suggested it could sell its controlling stake in dialysis arm Fresenius Medical Care. But at least one investment bank is publicly stating this doesn't go far enough. [+]
Pihlajalinna shares fall on results
Finnish outsourcing specialist Pihlajalinna posted some reasonable looking financials, on the face of it, for the full year to January 31, 2021 on Friday last week - so why have its shares dropped around 11% at the time of writing? [+]
Sanoptis plans expansion as sale rumours spread
Multiple sources have told HBI that fast-growing German and Swiss ophthalmology group Sanoptis might be looking at a Q2 sale, but HBI understands that is not entirely correct. HBI speaks to Sanoptis CEO Volker Wendel to set the record straight. [+]
University hospitals: Our new frontier
We've recently been looking at university hospitals in Europe. And it has been fascinating. [+]
Attendo’s 2021 growth not enough to halt long term downward share price trend
Pan-Nordic care group Attendo achieved modest revenue growth in 2021, whilst its occupancy level almost recovered to pre-pandemic levels. But it made a slight loss after taxes and its share price at SEK30.17 is down 70% from the 2017 peak. [+]
Amanat targets post-acute care
Amanat, the listed, Dubai-based healthcare and education investor, sees big opportunities in post acute care as it reveals strong 2021 results. [+]
Finnish SOTE reform 'could create more outsourcing opportunities'
In July 2021, Finland’s leftist parliament passed the long-awaited SOTE reform to its healthcare system, which amalgamated 309 municipal health authorities into 21 much larger ‘welfare regions’. HBI speaks to analysts and operators to find out what impact the reform is having on the for-profit sector. [+]
Covid and Sweden boost Terveystalo
Terveystalo, one of Finland’s two for-profit healthcare giants, saw strong growth in 2021, helped by its recent move into Sweden and a Covid boost. We speak to Terveystalo’s head of investor relations and two analysts, to analyse growth drivers. [+]
US lab giants see steep downturn as Covid ends
Labcorp and Quest saw big drops in fourth quarter revenue as Covid testing fell and warned of 60-75% declines in 2022. [+]
New homecare to hospital platform launches in France
A major French operator, the Doctegestio group, has launched a new platform called Avec which combines everything from dentistry and primary care to hospital and nursing homes. We talk to Bernard Bensaid, the entrepreneur behind Avec. [+]
Who is building broad outpatient businesses in Europe?
A wide range of outpatient specialities can be linked to a diagnostics and/or primary care back bone, building a complete ambulatory ecosystem linked by telehealth. Thanks to employers paying, this is a reality in Finland with Terveystalo and in Poland with Lux-Med and Medicover. Similar hub and spoke models are also the norm in the United Arab Emirates. But can it be done elsewhere and who is doing it? We name the highly ambitious operators and their platforms across the main European countries. [+]
Interview: Klaus Boehncke, Partner, L.E.K.
Precisely how is digital and telehealth changing the way health care is being delivered? We catch up with LEK's digital guru Klaus Boehncke who is full of examples! [+]
Is Orpea a bid target?
Rumours are swirling of a bid for Orpea, the scandal-hit pan-European care group. According to the rumours, another large French care home group is preparing a bid for Orpea. We hear this from a UK advisory source who named the buyer. [+]
Korian shares drop as it faces group lawsuit
French elderly care giant Korian has been dragged into the controversy surrounding the French nursing home sector. A lawyer is launching a group lawsuit against the company based on the experiences of some of the residents at its nursing homes. HBI speaks to financial analysts to find out what the potential long term impact on the sector might be of this, and the ongoing Orpea crisis. [+]
Staff exodus could be a lasting legacy of Ukrainian conflict
The threat of armed conflict continues to loom over Ukraine. Any escalation could have devastating consequences for the region, threatening lives and livelihoods - and yet the local contacts HBI has spoken to remain remarkably sanguine. [+]
Lusiadas Saude for sale
HBI hears Lusiadas Saude, Portugal’s third-largest hospital group by revenue, is for sale. Meanwhile, imaging and labs may be affected by the surprise re-election of the leftist Socialist government. HBI speaks with a healthcare consultant in Portugal to find out more. [+]
Chilean private health system at risk as insurers make record losses of $137bn
Five major private health insurers in Chile saw record losses in 2021, collectively worth $137bn. The losses ‘put the entire private health system at risk’, according to private health insurers’ representative body the Association of Isapres. [+]
The difficulty in making money from primary care in France
In contrast to other European countries such as the UK, Ireland and Sweden, France is not currently seeing consolidation of its primary care sector by major corporate entities. HBI speaks to Thomas Breuvart, associate and investor in healthcare at French evergreen investment firm Creadev, to find out why. [+]
For-profit lab consolidation across Europe's biggest markets - Infographic
Germany, France and Italy are Europe's largest for-profit laboratory services markets, with heavyweight groups like Sonic, Synlab, and Cerba having significant market shares. As the major players continue to make large and bolt-on acquisitions, just how consolidated are these markets. [+]
Interview: Andrew Knight, CEO, Care UK
With all the recent well publicised criticisms of care homes in France, the spotlight is very much on quality in the sector. Who better to talk to then than Andrew Knight, CEO of Care UK, which according to UK healthcare watchdog the Care Quality Commission, has 16% outstanding sites against a market average of 4%, and 89% of its sites are rated good or outstanding. [+]
New Dutch cabinet looks to shift elderly out of care homes
Elections in the Netherlands last year saw Mark Rutte, the Liberal prime minister, return for a fourth term, and belatedly we now have a new cabinet. Could we see a new direction for healthcare following this new mandate? [+]
Infravia "building a pan-European imaging / radiotherapy platform"
HBI exclusively hears that PE fund Infravia Capital is looking to build an imaging and radiotherapy platform spanning seven countries. [+]
Pictet launches Private Equity focused on health investment
Swiss multinational private bank and financial services company Pictet is launching a private equity fund for the healthcare sector. The company plans to invest in five key segments: therapeutics, diagnostics, digital health, medical technology, and health care and services providers. [+]
Stanley Capital acquires DSS
Stanley Capital, the London-based private equity fund, is to buy Drug Safety and Pharmacovigilance Services Solutions ("DSS") from Clario, a global clinical trials player. "DDS" specializes in pharmacovigilance - the assessment and monitoring of interactions between drugs and their effects on the human body. HBI talks to Simon Cottle, the founding partner at Stanley Capital. [+]
New Czech government set to liberalise health care market
The new centre-right Czech government will try to liberalise the healthcare market, could introduce supplementary insurance and may even reintroduce hugely unpopular co-pays. HBI talks with Dr Oldrich Subtr, the founder of Program Health Plus, a private polyclinic based in Prague. [+]
Fertility sector heating up with three major deals underway
The fertility sector is heating up with multiple deals underway. The UK’s largest group by revenue, CARE Fertility, has been bought for £300m by PE firm Nordic Capital; Reuters reports that of $2.2bn are currently being "lined up" for the largest international player, IVI-RMA. And Australia’s largest group, Virtus Health, is being bought by PE firm CapVest for an equity value of A$650m. [+]
Will Orpea scandal hit care home prices?
Luxembourg-based REIT Threestones Capital has just acquired three nursing homes in Germany. HBI catches up with Threestones Capital co-founder, Giovanni Perin, and talks to Xavier Cheval, head of healthcare property at major European REIT Icade, to find out what impact the Orpea scandal is having on elderly care real estate as an asset class. [+]
Training a doctor for €100,000
Yes, you read that right: €100,000. That is the total fee that for-profit educator EDU charges for a five-and-a-half year education, including a first degree, a masters, a year in a hospital, followed by six months as a trainee in a hospital at the end (see our interview of the week). [+]
French government opens investigation into Orpea whilst its board terminates CEO
The French government has opened an investigation into nursing home giant Orpea and the company has terminated its CEO. This comes after a tumultuous week for the company in which allegations of widespread malpractice in its French nursing homes were published and its share price halved. Could Orpea be vulnerable to a bid? [+]
Interview: Jürgen Laartz, founder, and Alexandra Cosma, COO, EDU Malta
A five and a half year education (Batchelor + Masters) as a doctor for just €100,000? That is what is on offer from EDU Malta, a for-profit educational institute with statutes which commit it to working for the public good. It is working closely with Fresenius Helios and other German hospitals and is looking for hospital partners in other countries. So how does it work, what are EDU’s plans and what role could this play in dealing with the massive world shortage of doctors? [+]
Patriotic bonus does not stop the brain drain from Poland
To halt the brain drain, in 2018 the Polish government introduced the "patriotic bonus". Doctors who agreed to stay in Poland for at least two years after finishing their post-graduate specialisation receive an additional monthly payment throughout that training. But has it made a difference? HBI, speaks to Dr Witold Paweł Kalbarczyk, advisor in the healthcare sector and former board member of EMC, as well as to CxOs in a large Polish operator and private equity fund investing in the region. [+]
Imaging and radiotherapy hots up in West Europe
Infrastructure funds, family offices and big cap private equity are keen to buy and consolidate the imaging/radiotherapy sector in wealthy Western Europe - Germany, France, Switzerland and Northern Italy. We look at recent deals and name the consolidators. [+]
Ukrainian operators calm, but foreign investment could falter
The eyes of the world have been on Ukraine recently, as the risk of a Russian invasion ramps up. HBI speaks to operators, private equity, and pharma in the region to see if nerves are being held, or fraying, and how what happens in the next few weeks might hit for-profit healthcare in the region. [+]
How will the elderly care sector weather the storm?
As Orpea faces a media and political storm following the publication of a critical book - the contents of which it rejects - it is worth noting that accusations of abuse and neglect within care homes are not a new phenomenon. [+]
Orpea and Korian shares plummet, as book alleges malpractice at Orpea
The share prices of Europe’s two nursing home giants, Orpea and Korian, both plummeted on Monday, after extracts from a book about Orpea containing allegations of malpractice were published in French newspaper Le Monde. Orpea, whose shares have halved in value, strongly rejects the allegations. [+]
Romanian outlook positive, as for-profits benefit from pandemic outsourcing
Regina Maria, the largest hospital group in Romania, is acquiring Bucharest-based fertility clinic Columna Medical Center. HBI talks to Fady Chreih, Regina Maria CEO, to find out more about the group's overall business strategy and Romanian market in general, while Matthew Strassberg, the CEO of owner Mid Europa, tells HBI that the business is not for sale. [+]
Hospital consolidation in France, Germany and Europe - Infographic
This week, we look at the extent to which the for-profit hospital market is consolidated in three key countries - France, Germany and the UK. These figures are a snapshot of the position based on revenues in 2020. [+]
Interview: Markus Grad, CEO, British Medical Auctions
British Medical Auctions (BMA), an auction house specialised in selling second hand medical equipment that UK hospitals no longer need, has a new owner in TBAuctions, a subsidiary of the largest auction house in Europe. HBI catches up with BMA’s founder and CEO, Markus Grad, to find out more about what the company does and its plans for future growth. [+]
Controversial new German Minister of Health ‘performing well’ so far
Six weeks after a new government took office in Germany, HBI catches up with Dr. Stephan Rau, partner at McDermott Will & Emery in Germany, to find out how things are going for the new and somewhat controversial Federal Minister of Health, Karl Lauterbach. [+]
Clinisys merger creates global player as public labs lag behind in automation
Clinisys claims to have created the world’s largest player in lab information management and lab order comms and results software with a three-way merger which creates a platform across diagnostics and environmental tests. So how does CEO, Michael Simpson, see software changing the sector over the next 3-5 years? And what does an independent consultant with many years experience in the field think about the sector and its growth? [+]
UK care homes focus on self funders as care crisis looms
Additional capacity is sorely needed in UK care homes, but many operators tell us they are only building facilities for privately paying residents. Local authority places do not pay enough to make it worthwhile, they say. HBI talks to three operators to find out more about this looming crisis. [+]
Opportunities and challenges in Nigerian healthcare
The Nigerian healthcare market presents a unique series of challenges and opportunities. HBI speaks to Afolabi Adetola, managing director of Cedar Advisory Partners, to find out more. [+]
Interview: Prof Hans Romijn, CEO, Amsterdam UMC
Prof Hans Romijn was faced with the task of merging Amsterdam’s two university hospitals, the Academic Medical Center (AMC) and the VU University Medical Center (VUmc) which had fiercely competed for decades. Out of the eight university hospitals in the Netherlands the duo were both in the smallest three. Yet the newly merged organisation is now the largest in the Netherlands with an enviable high ranking position for research output in Europe, in terms of citations. [+]
Voyage Care bought by Kuwaiti sovereign fund
Voyage Care, the UK’s largest provider of support for people with learning disabilities by revenue, has been acquired by Wren House Infrastructure, a London-based subsidiary of the Kuwait Investment Authority, Kuwait’s largest sovereign wealth fund. HBI explores the multiple paid, and the thinking behind it. [+]
ADQ/Alpha Dhabi merger is 'backdoor nationalisation’ of Abu Dhabi healthcare
A well-placed source tells us the merger between major UAE healthcare groups Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), the National Health Insurance Company (Daman) and Alpha Dhabi’s Pure Health, effectively amounts to a ‘backdoor nationalisation’ of the healthcare system in Abu Dhabi, and that it will now be difficult for any newcomers to enter the market. [+]
Dutch psychiatry acquisition a test of regulator's resolve
Dutch psychiatry outpatient operator Mentaal Beter is looking to acquire HSK, a similarly-sized competitor, but recent deal rejections by the competition authority has observers watching this transaction with interest. [+]
Quin collaborates with symptom checker Ada
Dutch telehealth group Quin has collaborated with the company behind one of the world's most popular symptom checkers, Ada Health, in order to integrate its symptom-checking tool into the Quin platform. HBI catches up with Quin's CEO and Ada's chief clinical officer to find out more. [+]
Covid conquered? What next for nursing homes
Nursing homes were in a dark place in 2020. One operator candidly told us earlier this week that they were seen as "places where you went to die". At the time, the reputational damage and the knock to occupancy looked substantial. But now we hear - across Europe - that care homes are not just as safe as houses. They are safer. As for Covid, people, apparently, have short memories. [+]
Virtus takeover could lead to M&A push in Europe
Australia-based listed fertility specialist Virtus Health, which also has a footprint in Ireland, Denmark, the UK and Singapore, is the subject of a takeover bid. HBI speaks to an operator source to find out more about the prospects of one of the largest international fertility groups delisting. [+]
$3bn Amil for sale in Brazil
UnitedHealthcare owned Amil is for sale in Brazil. Reports in Brazil say the $3bn plus valued insurance and hospital businesses run by Amil are likely to be split and sold to at least two separate buyers. HBI speaks to a Brazilian source to find out more. [+]
Nurse migration over time - Infographic
This week we take a look at nurse migration, with an infographic that shows the number of active foreign-trained nurses in a variety of European countries in both 2009, and 2019. [+]
Nursing homes: Recovering from the Covid crash in Europe
Nursing homes were firmly in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons as the pandemic hit at the start of 2020. Mortality rates were high, morale was low, and huge reputational damage was done. Two years on, HBI speaks to three European operators to find out how the market is recovering. [+]
UK fertility provider set to sell
HBI can exclusively reveal that a substantial UK-based fertility provider looks set to come to market later this year. HBI speaks to sources about possible pricing and buyers. [+]
Big Athens hospital to be sold by June 2022
One of the largest hospitals in Athens will be sold by June 2022 say sources. [+]
Genetics: the M&A drive
The big diagnostic lab groups are on a frantic M&A drive to capture capacity in genetic testing. The deals reflect the hunger for specialist genetic doctors, biologists and counsellors in a manpower intensive field which is seeing explosive growth. We look at recent deals and name the new competitors who are entering the market. [+]
Intermedica and Hapvida's get green light for merger
Two giants of Brazilian healthcare, listed HMOs Hapvida Participacoes e Investimentos SA and Grupo Notre Dame Intermedica Participacoes (GNDI), have received approval to merge from the country's antitrust authority CADE. The merger will create the country's biggest provider of health insurance policies, with around a 20% share of the for-profit market by number of users, and a 10% share of revenue. [+]
NHS makes new deal with private sector
The NHS has signed a new three month deal with major private hospital groups that will see their staff and facilities put on standby to be used as surge capacity in case the Omicron wave overwhelms the NHS system. [+]
Private sector doctors ordered to fill public hospital shortages in Greece
The Greek government has ordered doctors in the private sector to help public hospitals deal with the current Omicron surge, via a civil mobilisation order issued last Friday. [+]
Ramsay share price slumps after elective surgery ban in Australia
International hospital operator Ramsay’s share price fell 5.7% last Thursday, following the announcement that the Australian state of Victoria was reintroducing restrictions on non-urgent elective surgeries. On Friday, New South Wales followed suit. [+]
Dutch competition authority blocks two acquisitions
The Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has blocked two major healthcare acquisitions, marking what some observers believe is a new level of proactiveness for the antitrust body. [+]
Galician hospitals sue government for pandemic losses
Ten private hospitals in the Galicia province in northwest Spain are suing the regional Ministry of Health for rejecting their request for compensation for losses they incurred whilst helping the public sector in the first months of the Covid pandemic. [+]
Greek consolidation ramps up ahead of Ethniki decision
The Greek health care services sector continues to consolidate as rivals face up to near certainty that CVC, which owns the largest hospital group in Greece, Hellenic Healthcare Group, will finally get the green flag for its acquisition of Ethniki Insurance. That would create a dominant payor/provider. So how does that affect number two hospital player Athens Medical and Bioatriki, the largest lab network? [+]
Don't just hire an Indian doctor, hire an Indian clinic!
Faced by huge shortages of doctors, Europe is keen to hire Indian doctors. But there is a much better solution. [+]
IHH to "vigorously defend" $6.5bn lawsuit
Listed Malaysian hospital group IHH Healthcare says it will 'vigorously defend' a $6.5bn suit by US fund Emqore relating to the issuance of shares by IHH-owned Indian hospital group Fortis. [+]
KKR closes $4bn fund for health investment in Europe and North America
Global investment firm KKR has closed a $4bn fund dedicated to health care growth equity investment opportunities primarily in Europe and North America. [+]
Fresenius Helios buys another US fertility group
Spain-based fertility provider Eugin Group, part of Germany-based hospital group Fresenius Helios, has acquired a majority stake in a US-based fertility centre. [+]
Bain and CVC 'buying Boots'
Buyout firms Bain Capital and CVC are reportedly joining forces to put in a multibillion pound bid for UK pharmacy, health and beauty retailer Boots, which also has a presence in Thailand, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Netherlands, Malta and Indonesia. [+]
UK immigration changes make employing overseas care workers easier
UK immigration law is set to change to make it easier to bring in overseas care workers. HBI chats to Jemima Johnstone, head of corporate immigration at Gherson Solicitors, to find out more. [+]
Finland's largest university hospital appoints CEO from the for-profit sector
Matti Bergendahl, the former CEO of Mehilainen and Ambea has been appointed as CEO of Helsinki University Hospital (HUS), despite having just 20 months of employment in the public sector in his entire career. [+]
Omicron pressure making outsourcing to for-profits increasingly essential
Countries across Europe are turning to outsourcing to relieve the rapidly ramping up pressure on their public healthcare systems, as Omicron cases and staff absences mount. HBI hears the opportunities for for-profits to step in and help and substantial, and growing. [+]
HBI's most searched sectors and terms of 2021 - Infographic
What were you searching for in 2021? According to our word cloud, collated from the 500 most searched for terms on our website last year, it was largely - though not exclusively - the sectors most affected by Covid. [+]
Mediclinic Middle East acquires homecare group
Mediclinic Middle East is acquiring Ayadi Home Healthcare (Ayadi), which provides home healthcare services to patients in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. The acquisition is a further step towards becoming an integrated healthcare provider. [+]
IDH enters South Asian market
Integrated Diagnostics Holdings is acquiring a 50% stake in one of Pakistan’s largest diagnostics providers, entering the country for the first time. [+]
Cerba acquisition points to global expansion
EQT-backed pan-European lab group Cerba HealthCare has contracted to acquire global virology and immunology contract research organisation Viroclinics-DDL from US-based PE Summit Partners, expanding its offering in clinical trials. [+]
IHH looks to India for expansion, as Manipal predicts revenue surge
Listed Malaysian hospital group IHH Healthcare is looking to expand in India India, despite divesting its 62.2% stake in Continental Hospitals. [+]
Interview: Nick Delaney, CEO, HCML
Who better to explain the vagaries of the UK rehabilitation sector than Nick Delaney, the new CEO of HCML, bought by Apposite Capital in 2020? In a decade at the helm, he grew Ascenti, the largest UK player in the sector, from €8m to €45m with a 700% increase in EBITDA and he has subsequently worked or advised many of the other players in the £500m insurer paid-for sector. [+]
What is behind Korian property deals?
Care group giant Korian has signed a second property deal with another big institutional investor, in this case, BAE Systems Pension Funds. This partnership leaves Korian in control of its property whilst giving the investor protection from the volatility of the stock market and guarantees on minimum returns. [+]
Merger creates UAE’s largest healthcare group, targets global expansion
Several healthcare companies in the UAE are merging to create the the county's largest healthcare provider. The new company will operate as a payor-provider. [+]
Life Science and Labs are hot
Life sciences property is hot, hot, hot. Just announced is a deal which saw Nordic property group Niam sell Thermo-Fisher’s Finnish offices and labs to Intermediate Capital Group. Meanwhile Life Science REIT (the first publicly quoted trust in Europe dedicated to the sector, which floated in London in October) has already closed five deals. Elsewhere Icade has snapped up five Portuguese hospitals. And we are told that 2022 will be the year the big European property REITs target UK nursing homes and hospitals. [+]
Synlab and Unilabs go head to head for Dutch Covid testing contract
HBI hears the Dutch Ministry of Health is looking to give a Covid testing contract reportedly worth up to €2bn to Unilabs, after previously agreeing to give the contract to Synlab. Synlab tells HBI the tender process is ongoing. [+]
Icade Sante makes first acute care acquisition in Italy
REIT Icade Sante has purchased acute care real estate in Italy for the first time, with the acquisition of four hospitals from Gruppo Villa Maria for €85m. The company has also signed contracts for the purchase of four new nursing homes in Germany, for €71m. [+]
Groups unite to form “France’s largest lab consortium"
Four French lab groups have joined forces under a new name - OuiLab - to form what they claim is France’s largest group of independent labs, with €200m total revenue. [+]
CVC invests in FutureLife
CVC Capital Partners has agreed to acquire a co-controlling holding in pan-European IVF provider FutureLife, alongside the company’s current investor Hartenberg Holding. [+]
2022: Reason for optimism
In many ways, 2021 appears at first glance to have been a false dawn. Far from being put to the sword by vaccines, Covid is still very much with us and still the topic on everyone’s lips, and rightly so. And yet there remain reasons for optimism in the market. [+]
Archaic state psychiatry rules drive private sector growth in Russia
A lack of patient anonymity in Russia's state psychiatry system is helping drive double-digit growth in the private sector, an operator tells HBI. [+]
New Egyptian GP hotline service getting 500 callers a day
MENA’s largest telehealth group, Altibbi, has launched a new telephone service in Egypt, with the aim of increasing access to GPs amongst poorer and more rural populations. We speak to CEO Jalil Allabadi to find out more. [+]
Affidea sale - potential price and buyers
European imaging and cancer treatment provider Affidea is for sale according to multiple sources. HBI chats to an operator source to find about more about the sale and to speculate on price and purchasers. [+]
Indian gastroenterology group denies sale rumour
Asian Institute of Gastroenterology (AIG) in India has publicly denied there is any truth that the Hyderabad-based group is up for sale. [+]
Polarising politician becomes German Federal Minister of Health
Germany has a new government - and a new Federal Minister of Health in Karl Lauterbach. HBI talks to two Germany-based sources who agree he is a politician embraced more by the public than his own party, and considers what his appointment might mean for the sector. [+]
Where next for telehealth?
Two weeks ago we wrote about how the opportunities for large companies and investors to turn a profit in primary care are limited, and that this explains why there aren’t many large for-profit primary care groups. But there is one part of the primary care sector where this is not true at all: the telehealth sector. [+]
WHO says pandemic pushing back against decades of progress to universal coverage
Two decades worth of progress towards achieving universal health coverage across the world could be halted by the pandemic. The WHO claims this is a likely outcome in light of new data it has collected and presented in two new reports, authored in tandem with the World Bank. HBI talks to the WHO and International Finance Corporation to find out more. [+]
Altibbi launches healthcare hotline in Egypt
Middle East digital health platform Altibbi is launching a premium telephone hotline to put patients in touch with a doctor, with payment taken by the minute as phone credit. [+]
Vivanta ditching aesthetics to focus on dentistry
Vivanta, Spain’s third largest dental group by revenue, is rebranding to focus on its core dental activities. The company is to divest its aesthetics division, and change its name to Vivantadental. [+]
Hundreds need emergency transfer after UK private hospital treatment
Five hundred and eighty-three patients in the UK were transferred as an emergency to another hospital following complications during private treatment in the 12 months to June 2021, according to data released for the first time by the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN). [+]
Effect of Covid on waiting times for elective surgery - Infographic
Long waiting times for elective surgery have been a problem across much of Western Europe for years, but Covid has unequivocally compounded this, opening the door to outsourcing to for-profits to get waiting times down. [+]
Wage structure could be imposed on German nursing homes
German nursing homes could be forced to use a government imposed wage structure dictating to them what staff must be paid according to their role and experience. HBI talks to a Germany based operator to find out more. [+]
Penta buying big into Alzheimer's care in Czechia
Penta Hospitals in Czechia is buying a large network of Alzheimer's clinics from specialist for-profit provider Creditas. [+]
Interview: Prof. Daan Dohmen, Founder, Luscii Healthtech
Covid has been good for Dutch digital health player, Luscii, which creates virtual wards at home, keeping patients out of hospital. Its platform has processed almost 25 million registrations for both chronic conditions, and patients undergoing episodic care. Active in the Netherlands, the UK, Ireland and several African countries, it is now moving to Germany. [+]
Southeast Asian groups target telehealth as Covid curbs medical tourism
Large groups in Southeast Asia are turning to telehealth as Covid takes its toll on medical tourism. HBI catches up with Max Healthcare in India, and takes an in depth look at what Bangkok Dusit is doing in Thailand. [+]
Ramsay buys Elysium
International hospital operator Ramsay Healthcare is entering the UK mental health hospital market with the £775m (€907m) acquisition of Elysium Healthcare. [+]
Centene set to sell its €2bn plus international arm
Big US managed care company Centene has stated that it is conducting a strategic review of its international arm - Circle Health in the UK and Grupo Ribera Salud in Spain and elsewhere in Europe. [+]
Babylon steps up AI and data projects
Digital first health provider Babylon has launched an AI-powered triage tool in Rwanda to as Rwanda moves to digitise its healthcare system. [+]
Mediclinic buys Mehilainen's digital platform
Mediclinic International has entered into a group-wide digital collaboration with BeeHealthy, a subsidiary of Finnish-based international private healthcare provider Mehiläinen. [+]
Proximie joins Kenyan project to reduce cesarean deaths
A project funded by US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson to reduce child and maternal mortality during childbirth in Kenya will make use of UK healthtech start-up Proximie’s remote surgery-guiding technology. [+]
TPG 'looking to sell stake in Pathology Asia Holdings'
The rumours have been swirling for some time, but HBI hears that TPG Capital Asia could be looking to sell a stake in Pathology Asia Holdings ahead of a possible $2bn IPO. [+]
Dutch elderly care group goes bust
Dutch nursing home group Ontzorgd Wonen Groep has gone into administration. We speak to a consultant to find out what led to this failure - and what it tells us about the Netherland’s elderly care sector. [+]
Being a super courier helps you get ahead in healthcare
With the sale of Unilabs hitting the headlines this week, and Synlab having listed back in May this year, labs would be very much in the spotlight even if Covid was no longer a threat. When you look at who has just bought Unilabs and why it says it made the purchase - and consider the man at the helm of Synlab, an interesting coincidence appears [+]
Unilabs lands unexpected buyer
Global lab company Unilabs has been acquired by A.P. Moller Holding, an investment company owned by the Maersk family, who own global supply chain and logistics businesses. [+]
PAI Partners and Ontario Teachers' buy Veonet
HBI has been told that Paris based private equity firm PAI Partners and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board have agreed to acquire Germany based ophthalmology network Veonet from Nordic Capital. [+]
Vivalto Santé to hoover up hospitals after LBO
Vivalto Partners, a new investment fund founded by the CEO of France's third-largest hospital group Vivalto Santé, has bought a controlling stake in the hospital group. HBI hears that Vivalto Santé will focus on further consolidating western France while Vivalto Partners wants to acquire other healthcare businesses. [+]
The changing face of primary care
Primary care is regarded in most countries as an essential pillar of a functioning healthcare system, yet many governments have tended to stay out of its provision. Whilst in most European countries it is primarily funded by the public sector or statutory insurance, very few countries have any primary care that is actually delivered by the public sector. [+]
Labs could be next on property block
Life science properties that incorporate some laboratories in one form or another could be the next property boom says Piers Scrimshaw-Wright, who has just joined Knight Frank as Life Science and Innovation partner. So has anything been sold in Europe so far? [+]
UK social care reform 'nowhere near enough'
The UK government will spend £3.6bn on paying 'a fairer cost' for adult social care, in new plans that also set aside £500m on workforce and training, £300m on elderly care housing, and £150m on digitalisation as part of a long-awaited reform. Experts tell HBI that it is 'nowhere near enough'. [+]
$7bn Indian insurance IPO fails to cover book
Indian private health insurer Star Health has seen just short of four-fifths of its IPO offer subscribed in the past three days of book building. However, local press reports that the listing will still go through thanks to a downsized secondary offer. [+]
Relax investment rules to avert German care crisis, says report
Private investors are an essential component in tackling the shortage of nursing home beds and carers in Germany over the next decade – and strict investment rules should be relaxed to make investment more appealing. [+]
Russian oxygen supplies dwindle
Parts of Russia are facing significant oxygen shortages as the treatment of Covid patients continues to chip away at reserves. [+]
IHH considers divesting in China
Listed Malaysian hospital group IHH Healthcare is considering a divestment of its loss-making Chinese business, it has told the stock exchange. Parkway Group could sell for US$1bn. [+]
Veonet bought by PAI Partners and Ontario Teachers' pension fund
HBI has been told that Paris based private equity firm PAI Partners and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board have agreed to acquire Germany based ophthalmology network Veonet from Nordic Capital. [+]
Cofinimmo sweeps up more assets across Europe
Belgian REIT Cofinnimo continues to spend across Europe making its latest acquisitions in Germany and France and building a new nursing and care home in Andalusia. [+]
Booster blunder puts staff at risk
The Indian government's slowness to approve booster shots is putting lives at risk - particularly those of front line medical staff whose immunity is waning. HBI speaks to a disappointed operator source in the country to find out more. [+]
Rising costs force EBITDA crash for hospitals
EBITDA has crashed among most of Europe's biggest hospital groups despite high single-digit revenue growth. Last-minute cancellations, supply chain issues and rising energy prices are all among the culprits. [+]
Aster DM to focus on 'high-growth' Indian business
UAE and Indian hospital business Aster DM has tasked bankers to look at a demerger between the two geographies. Chairman Azad Moopen has said this makes more room for capex on the high-growth Indian business. [+]
South African hospitals recover despite no state support
The South African government made almost no use of private sector capacity during the pandemic, HBI hears, sending less than 100 COVID patients to be treated in the private sector. However, results point to a bounceback for the ‘Big Three’. [+]
Fresenius Helios expands in Colombia
Quironsalud, the Spanish arm of Fresenus Helios has expanded its Colombian business with the acquisition of Centro Oncológico de Antioquia and ophthalmology centre Clínica Clofán. In its nine month results Fresenius stated that Latin America were strong and "notably above expectations." We look at a booming market where Fresenius Helios spent the lion's share of its €770m on M&A deals in 2020 and 2019 alone. [+]
Russia kickstarts remote diagnoses
Russia has just started a new three-year pilot that allows specific providers to make remote diagnoses and prescriptions, it is one of the last countries in Europe to deregulate telehealth. [+]
When have e-prescriptions become mandatory in Europe? - Infographic
This week HBI looks at when e-prescriptions became mandatory across most of Europe's big healthcare markets. Surprisingly, France and Germany look to be years behind other 'less developed' healthcare systems. [+]
Docplanner fundraising in 12 months after Germany move
Pan-European booking platform Docplanner has made its first meaningful internationalisation in four years with the acquisition of German doctor-rating player Jameda. CFO Peter Bialo tells HBI that the recently-minted unicorn will be heading for another fundraising round in a year. [+]
LNA Sante gives 1,100 employees shares
A complex restructuring at the listed French nursing home group will leave 10% of the shares in the hands of 1,100 employees. [+]
Adult care: New report shows huge potential
At over €5bn a year, adult care is a huge market for the for-profit sector in the UK/Ireland and much of the Nordic region. But is it possible to build Pan-European businesses in the sector? It is the latest sector covered by HBI Intelligence which now provides sector/country coverage across 20 sectors with 330 national entries. [+]
Icon Group targeting Europe after A$2.4bn EQT buy out
Australia's largest oncology provider Icon Group has been bought by EQT's infrastructure arm for AUS$2.4bn. Its CEO Mark Middleton tells HBI that the group now has its sights set on Europe. [+]
French municipalities seek to privatise care homes
Municipality-owned French care homes are in crisis. Tired, old buildings, with low tariffs and now, following Covid, far lower occupancy rates are leading many to consider the unthinkable: privatisation. [+]
Colisee to close €1bn deal next week
Colisee, the fourth largest French care home group backed by EQT, will finalise a major deal extending its French coverage. [+]
The three bidders for Unilabs compared
Two strategics and a private equity player are bidding for Unilabs, the Pan-European, Mid East and LaTam lab and imaging group. So who is likely to win? [+]
NHS England reform 'won't increase outsourcing' despite tough winter ahead
The UK has just passed a new law that stands to shake up the procurement of healthcare services. The for-profit sector has hoped it could drive more patients to their businesses, especially against ballooning waiting lists and winter pressure, but experts tell HBI there's little chance it will increase outsourcing. [+]
Not-for-profits dominate Europe's adult care - Infographic
Adult social care, a major sector in the UK and Nordics in particular, has traditionally been dominated by the not-for-profit sector in Europe. In this week's infographic, we look at the for-profit, not-for-profit/public split across select countries in Europe. [+]
Second round bids in for Unilabs
Global lab and imaging group Unilabs is in the second round of its sales process, HBI hears, with four bidders made up of private equity and strategic buyers. [+]
Helium Health acquires Qatari doctor booking platform
African healthtech provider Helium Health has acquired Meddy, a Qatar and UAE-based doctor booking platform, with a view to expansion. HBI speaks to Adegoke Olubusi, Helium Health co-founder and CEO, to find out more. [+]
What's the growth story for labs?
The Unilabs sales process is well underway, in what will likely be the biggest deal in healthcare services since EQT unexpectedly snapped up Cerba earlier this year. Virtually all of Europe's big private labs have traded this year - so what's the wider growth story? [+]
Interview: Amon van den Borg, CEO, Arts en Zorg
Arts en Zorg is the only major pureplay primary care group in the Netherlands. CEO Amon van den Borg talks to HBI about its business model and plans for the future, and reflects on the need for modernisation and digitization within the Dutch healthcare sector. [+]
Mehiläinen buys in Germany, gets ‘passport’ to invest
Finland's largest for-profit healthcare operator by revenue Mehiläinen has made its first acquisition in Germany. The acquired hospital, Dalberg Klinik, is the ticket to further investments in the country's outpatient sector, HBI hears from Janne-Olli Järvenpää, Mehiläinen's CEO. [+]
Spain to spend €450m on health digitalisation
Spain will spend over €450m on the digitalisation of its primary care sector, building a new data network and AI as part of a new €1.5bn healthcare budget. The sector, however, says it is not enough. [+]
HCA Healthcare UK takes on 30 refugee nurses
Hospital group HCA Healthcare UK is taking on 30 nurse refugees from Lebanon to work in its UK hospitals. Its charity partner wants to roll out the scheme to other private hospitals. [+]
Fertility M&A: KKR buys GeneraLife, Mediclinic buys Bourn Hall in MENA
There are two big deals in fertility this week, as global investment company KKR has acquired health, wellness and fitness group GeneraLife IVF (formerly Ginefiv) from Southern Europe focussed Investindustrial, and Mediclinic Middle East has acquired 100% of Bourn Hall Fertility Centre in the MENA