MedLife becomes one of the largest private healthcare providers in Central and Eastern Europe

By Andra Beltz
MedLife, the leader of the private medical services market in Romania, crosses the country’s border and announces the first international transaction: the acquisition of 51% of the Rozsakert Medical Center Group of companies in Hungary.
The Rozsakert Medical Center (RMC) is in top 10 providers of private medical services in Hungary. The group has a multidisciplinary clinic that is also equipped with a small surgery room and a dental center. According to the company’s representatives, more than 40,000 patients use RMC services every year. They access a wide range of clinical and para-clinical outpatient services and investigations, as well as a complex range of day hospitalization interventions, focusing on the specialties of ophthalmology, gynecology, proctology, dermatology, plastic surgery, and more others.
The group of companies was set up in 2001 by Dr. Gyula Csermely, gynecologist-obstetrician, and after 18 years of operation, it brings together a team of over 250 doctors and nurses. In 2017 the group registered a turnover of 4.2 million euros, according to the management of RMC.
“It is the first move outside Romania of a Romanian company operating in the private medical sector and we are proud that MedLife, the leader of the medical services market in Romania, exceeds the borders and leads the Romanian capital further. Hungary has an interesting, growing private medical market. I think that through our know-how in respect of expansions, as well as the good relationship with the existing shareholders of the companies already integrated in the Group, we will be able to develop a solid long-term partnership. The medical team in Hungary is very valuable and we believe that together we will strengthen the MedLife system to provide high-quality medical services to patients both in Romania and Hungary. The investments allocated for this stage amount to 4-5 million euros, and in the next period we will look at other expansion opportunities. Europe suffers in terms of cross-boarder businesses, until now very few companies have achieved this, especially in the complex medical field, with medical clinics, imaging, laboratories and hospitals under the same roof. We have the chance to provide an example, and to the extent we will succeed, Hungary and Romania can become pioneers of a regional Company” said Mihai Marcu, CEO and Chairman of MedLife Group.
“We were invited to Romania to see how MedLife group works and we were truly amazed at what we saw. We have been able to see how top medicine is practiced at international standards in an extremely well-organized manner. We returned home thinking that this is a group in which we would be happy to continue our path and development. That’s how the negotiations began. The investment made is not just a transaction, it is also the incorporation of a well-capitalized strategic partner with a similar approach to ours. We will go further in the same direction, the strategic goal being expanding and accelerating growth, “said Dr. Gyula Csermely, CEO of RMC.
The local acquisition plan of MedLife Group continues in 2019 as well as the development of other business segments. “We have created a complex medical system with national coverage, there is no town of more than 200,000 inhabitants in which MedLife is not present. In 2019 we will focus on digitization, on second opinion at national level and on the development of centers of excellence at the level of the 10 hospital units, for more specialties such as neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, abdominal wall surgery, gynecology and sports traumatology. We have grown a lot in terms of the complexity of the medical act, and this recommends us not only as a business partner but also as a solid medical partner” concluded Mihai Marcu, President and CEO of MedLife Group.
MedLife consultants in the RMC transaction were Schoenherr, the team being coordinated by Zita Albert (Partner) Schoenherr Hungary.
MedLife is the largest private medical operator in Romania. The company operates the largest network of clinics, one of the major networks of medical laboratories, multi and monodisciplinary hospitals and it has the largest client base for Health Prevention Packages at national level. Also, sales-wise, it is one of the major private healthcare companies in Central and Eastern Europe.
The MedLife Group has a successful background regarding both organic and also acquisition growth. Since 2009 the company has opened or bought over 83 medical units. Its strong and experienced management team has been able to create and manage these growth opportunities, acquiring valuable experiences and knowledge, allowing it to find the best way for carrying on the expansion process successfully.