American health insurance and services company UnitedHealth will purchase a 90-percent stake in Brazil’s top private health care provider Amil Participacoes, for about $4.9 billion, the US firm said in a statement Monday.
UnitedHealth Group will take Amil’s huge health and dental benefits management and provider network serving more than 5 million people. Amil itself operates 22 hospitals and 50 clinics, as well as specialty and emergency care centres.
“The combination of patient-focused disease management programs, effective alignment with and direction of patients to clinical centres of excellence for complex procedures, and the performance of its integrated network have consistently produced superior clinical outcomes and cost performance,” the two companies said in a statement.
Amil founder and chief executive Dr. Edson Bueno — who will remain as head of the Brazilian operation — said UnitedHealth will bring it advanced technology and new service programs that will enable Amil “to grow faster and do more to care for patients and serve consumers as a leading Brazilian company.”
Stephen Hemsley, CEO of UnitedHealth Group, said Brazil’s rapidly growing economy and expanding middle class make it a valuable market for health benefits management.
“Combining Amil, the clear market leader serving an under-penetrated market of nearly 200 million people, with UnitedHealth Group’s experiences and capabilities developed over the last three decades is the most compelling growth and value creation opportunity we have seen in years.”
United Health said the purchase bring with it realizable Brazilian tax benefits of $600 million, bringing the effective price of the investment down to $4.3 million.
New York City, USA, Oct 8, 2012 (AFP)
