KUALA LUMPUR (April 2): IHH Healthcare Bhd’s Turkey-based Acibadem Healthcare Group is acquiring a 70% stake in Bel Medic Group, a leading private healthcare operator in Serbia.

IHH and Acibadem said in a joint statement that definitive agreements have been signed for the acquisition, but did not disclose the purchase price.

Bel Medic, founded in 1995 by Dr  Jasmina Knezevic and Milan Knezevic, is a high-quality healthcare provider, operating one hospital and five outpatient clinics in Belgrade.  Post-acquisition, the group will operate under the name “Acıbadem Bel Medic”.

Acibadem's founder and chairman Mehmet Ali Aydınlar said the group is pleased to have its sixth European hospital in Belgrade, according to the statement.

The other hospitals under Acibadem's European portfolio comprise three in Bulgaria and one each in the Netherlands and Macedonia.

The acquisition boosts Acıbadem’s beds globally to more than 4,200 across 22 hospitals in five countries, the statement said.

IHH raised its stake in Acibadem to 90% from 60% in 2018, after Aydınlar and his wife Hatice Seher Aydinla converted their shares in the Turkish unit into equities in the Malaysia-based group.

Besides Acibadem, IHH manages several other healthcare brands – Fortis, Gleneagles, Mount Elizabeth, Parkway, Pantai and Prince Court – in its key markets of Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey, India and Greater China (including Hong Kong).

IHH's shares price closed one sen or 0.19% lower at RM5.29 on Bursa Malaysia today, giving it a market capitalisation of RM46.44 billion. The counter saw 1.20 million shares traded.