Vgenopoulos’ Ygeia buys private hospital in Cyprus

The Ygeia AE medical centre in Athens, controlled by Marfin Popular chief executive Andreas Vgenopoulos, has taken a 56.7% strategic stake in the Achilleon private hospital of Limassol for a deal worth CYP 8,27 mln (EUR 14,1 mln), news reports said Thursday.

Ygeia board president Vgenopoulos had declared recently that the medical company would expand strategically in southeastern Europe in order to become a market leader though acquisitions valued at some EUR 1 bln.

Ygeia planned to buy at least three major medical facilities in Cyprus in deals to be concluded by the end of September, the Alithia daily reported.

The Achilleon, owned by Chrysaphiliotissa Public Ltd., was built in 2004. It is fully equipped hospital that employs 120 medical and support staff, covers 7,000 sq.m., has 86 rooms, eight operating theatres, five delivery rooms, an Emergency Room, a special care unit and uses the latest technology such as MRI.

Greek press reports suggest that after the Cyprus takeovers, Ygeia will deploy an aggressive plan to conquer the Albanian market and then expand into Bulgaria, Romania, Skopje and Serbia.