Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) confirmed its continued interest in acquiring a larger stake in Metro Pacific Health Corp. (MPH), the country’s largest private hospital network, as part of its broader strategy to expand and digitize healthcare services in the Philippines.
MPIC chief finance, risk, and sustainability officer Chaye Cabal-Revilla said the conglomerate has submitted an offer to buy an additional 30 percent stake in MPH from current majority stakeholders KKR & Co. and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, which together own 80 percent of the hospital group. MPIC holds the remaining 20 percent.
“We all know that when a PE (private equity) investor comes in, it will not be forever. But MPIC has always been there, especially MVP (Manuel V. Pangilinan), that’s his baby MPH. We’ve started with Makati Med,” said Revilla.
She also emphasized the strategic role of MPH within MPIC’s healthcare portfolio, citing a renewed contract with Cardinal Santos Medical Center. “They’re looking at MPH and MVP as the anchor of their (operations),” she said.
MPH operates 27 hospitals nationwide. Pangilinan earlier expressed ambitions to nearly double that number. “So I hope we could do that in 5 years or so,” he said.
The additional capital from KKR and GIC—amounting to P35.3 billion since their investment in 2019—has supported MPH’s nationwide expansion. The group now includes 33 outpatient care centers, two allied health colleges, and a centralized laboratory across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Revilla also revealed MPIC’s plan to integrate its digital health platform, Metro Pacific Health Tech Corp. (mWell), into MPH. “So, we’re even doing the digitalization of MPH in the hospitals. Because, when we’re able to do the process that we’ve done here in the mWell clinic into the hospitals, when you go into a hospital, you don’t have to fill up 10-pager forms,” she said.
MPH was incorporated in 2007, with Makati Medical Center as its first acquisition.
