Private equity fund MidEuropa announced the sale of Regina Maria Group, the healthcare network operating under the Regina Maria brand in Romania and the MediGroup brand in Serbia, to Mehiläinen, the largest private healthcare and social care provider in Finland, also present in Sweden, Germany, Lithuania, and Estonia.
The sale, which the company described as "the largest healthcare services transaction in Central Europe," is subject to customary anti-trust clearance and is expected to close later this year.
Mehiläinen, which has a history of over 115 years in the medical field, is acquiring 100% of the shares of Regina Maria and MediGroup.
The transaction "confirms the high development potential of the healthcare market in Romania and the region, marking a new stage in Regina Maria's evolution in a key year that celebrates 30 years since the network's founding," the company said.
Fady Chreih will continue as the CEO of Regina Maria Health Network and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of MediGroup Serbia.
There will be no changes in the name of the health network or current operations, the company said.
Regina Maria has a development plan defined concretely until 2030, which includes both organic growth and development through new acquisitions, a plan reconfirmed by Mehiläinen Group. Over the next five years, Regina Maria aims to double the business on the local market, exceeding EUR 1 billion in Romania alone, along with expanding into new areas and markets, with the possibility of expanding into another country by 2030, it said.
Mehiläinen Group is present in five European countries. The group's operations currently encompass over 890 clinics and medical facilities, along with a network of more than 37,000 healthcare professionals. Annually, the group serves over 2.2 million clients and reported a revenue of EUR 2,063.5 million in 2024, marking an 11.5% increase compared to 2023. Its largest shareholder is CVC Capital Partners. Other shareholders are pension provider Varma, the State Pension Fund of Finland, pension provider Ilmarinen, the Pharmacy Pension Fund, and Valion Eläkekassa Pension Fund.
With over 11,000 employees and collaborators and with locations in every county in Romania, Regina Maria has a portfolio of nearly 1 million subscriptions and approximately 13,000 corporate partners.
Regina Maria's sister company, MediGroup, has more than 100 units and over 2,500 employees.
The combined revenue of the two companies exceeded EUR 550 million in 2024.
"Regina Maria is one of the fastest-growing and highest-quality healthcare service providers in Europe, led by some of the best professionals in the field. We have closely followed the company's development for years and are truly delighted with the opportunity for acquisition. Regina Maria's sister company, MediGroup, is also a leading player in its market with excellent quality. I am looking forward to the partnership with Fady and his outstanding management team," Janne-Olli Järvenpää, CEO of Mehiläinen Group, said.
"We are honored that the largest healthcare provider in Finland, with over a century of medical experience, recognizes the potential of the medical market in Romania and Serbia. This investment reflects Mehiläinen Group's confidence in the region's economic development, representing an important sign of stability in the current financial context. […] We are fully confident that, alongside Mehiläinen, we will benefit from strong support to continue strengthening our services in both Romania and Serbia. Together, we are moving towards a future of increasingly advanced, digitalized, and accessible healthcare, where patient safety and the quality of medical care remain paramount," Fady Chreih, CEO of Regina Maria, said.
Mid Europa acquired Regina Maria (Centrul Medical Unirea) in 2015. Upon announcing the exit from Regina Maria, the fund said Romania represents a relevant market, where it wants to continue investing, alongside Romanian entrepreneurs. In 2023, Mid Europa sold local retailer Profi to Ahold Delhaize in a EUR 1.3 billion exit. Locally, the fund also has in its portfolio the delivery services company Cargus.
(Photo: the company)
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