Fosun unit to divest 40% stake in Portugal’s Luz Saude to Macquarie-linked firm

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(Reuters) -Hong Kong-listed Chinese conglomerate Fosun International said on Friday its unit had agreed to sell a 40% stake in Portugal-based hospital operator Luz Saude for 310 million euros ($362.92 million) to an entity linked to Australia’s Macquarie Group.

Fosun-controlled Portuguese insurer Fidelidade inked a deal with MEIF 7 Med Holdings to dispose of some of its stake in the hospital operator, the Hong Kong-listed company said in a statement.

MEIF 7 Med Holdings, which is affiliated with Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 7, is managed by Macquarie Asset Management, the asset management arm of Australian financial services group Macquarie.

Following the completion of the deal, Fidelidade will retain 59.86% of shares and voting rights in Luz Saude, Fosun added.

The stake sale comes amid growing interest in Portugal’s healthcare sector from private equity firms.

Lusiadas Saude, one of the country’s leading hospital operators, was acquired by France’s Vivalto Sante in 2022, while Spain’s MCH Private Equity purchased a minority stake in Sanfil-Global Health earlier this year.

Luz Saude is among Portugal’s largest private healthcare groups and operates 30 hospitals, clinics and nursing homes across the country.

Earlier last year, Fidelidade had considered listing Luz Saude on the Lisbon stock exchange but shelved the plan after assessing instability in capital markets, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Fosun began its investment in Portugal in May 2014, acquiring Fidelidade for about 1 billion euros and currently owns 85% of the company.

($1 = 0.8542 euros)

(Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee & Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)