Private healthcare provider MedLife has acquired a majority stake in the fitness operator Sweat Concept, which owns four venues in Bucharest. The transaction marks MedLife’s entry into the wellness segment.

Following the deal, the management team of Sweat Concept will keep their role and be responsible for the network’s development and expansion strategy.

“The new context made us feel a deeper need to take care of ourselves and those around us, from the physical to the emotional health. And this accelerated the decision to enter a new business segment. Wellness is no longer a luxury segment of spas or the exclusive domain of wellness brands. It is a global mindset that goes hand in hand with everyone’s lifestyle,” Dorin Preda, executive director of MedLife Group, said.

“We are embarking on a new strategic direction, which complements the diagnosis and treatment services we already offer in the largest network of medical units nationwide. Our objective is to become an integrated provider of subscriptions by offering easy access to preventive medical care, movement and nutrition. We firmly believe that, with the integration of this model at a national level, we will be able to contribute, in time, to a significant improvement of the patients’ quality of life. Furthermore, we are convinced that, sooner or later, these subscriptions and services will become deductible since they will unburden the expenses in the public health system,” he added.

“In the coming period, we plan to expand the Sweat Concept network nationwide, and we are convinced that MedLife is the partner we need to reach this objective,” Laurenţiu Matei, CEO and founder of Sweat Concept, said.

MedLife announced a series of transactions in June, and the opening of one of its own units. It took over the diagnostic and imaging medical center Tomorad in Sfântu Gheorghe and a 60% stake in the Medical Center of Gastroenterology in Târgu Mureș. Also in Târgu-Mureş, it opened a clinic following a EUR 2 million investment.  

The company also acquired an 80% stake in Medici’s, the operator of a network of four clinics in Timișoara, which is currently building a multidisciplinary hospital in the city, and an 80% stake in the Timișoara-based clinic Profilaxis. The company will be integrated under the Sfânta Maria brand.

Also last month, MedLife took over Medicris Oradea, the largest labor medicine and associated services center in Bihor county.

(Photo:  Ivan Trizlic | Dreamstime.com)

simona@romania-insider.com