Euromedic Sells Dialysis Unit To Fresenius For EUR485M ($650 Million US)

ANUARY 4, 2011, 7:08 A.M. ET
UPDATE: Euromedic Sells Dialysis Unit To Fresenius For EUR485M ($650 Million US)

By Marietta Cauchi
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)--Euromedic International has sold its dialysis service operations to Germany's Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (FMC) for EUR485 million, the companies said Tuesday confirming a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The acquisition of International Dialysis Centers will give Fresenius Medical Care a chain of dialysis clinics in the fast-growing health-care markets of Eastern Europe and Russia. Fresenius Medical Care, a unit of Germany's Fresenius SE, already operates 2,700 dialysis clinics in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa.

"Eastern Europe is a key component of our overall growth strategy, and we are convinced that Euromedic's HD operations will be an excellent fit with those of Fresenius Medical Care," said Ben Lipps, chief executive of Fresenius Medical Care.

"Bringing together the experienced HD teams of both companies and our focus on high-quality patient care will give us a unique opportunity to meet the growing needs of the public sector in these fast growing markets," he added.

Dutch-based Euromedic provides medical services across Eastern Europe. It owns and operates some 140 medical centers including diagnostics, clinical laboratories and cancer treatment centers. The company is owned by three private equity firms--Montagu Private Equity, BAML Capital Partners and Ares Life Sciences--which intend to continue investing in Euromedic.

Merril Lynch acted as financial advisor to Euromedic on the deal which will initially be financed from cash flow and available borrowing capacity. After closing, Fresenius Medical Care said it expects to refinance the acquisition on a long-term basis.

The acquisition of International Dialysis Centers is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the first half of 2011. On completion, the acquired operations will add approximately $180 million in annual revenue and are expected to be accretive to earnings in the first year after the transaction closes.

-By Frankfurt Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29725 500; djnews.frankfurt@dowjones.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110104-703243.html