AC Health pursues acquisitions for hospital growth

AYALA Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AC Health), which operates hospitals and clinics under Healthway Medical Network (HMN), said it has several hospital acquisition targets in the pipeline and hopes to announce at least one deal within the year, while planning to open three to five clinics annually over the next three to five years.

“For now, we have a few acquisition targets in the pipeline. Hopefully, we’ll be able to announce something within the year,” AC Health Chief Strategy and Investment Officer Rafael Jaime V. Recio told reporters on the sidelines of an event last week.

“But if you’re asking whether we want to build greenfield projects, I think we’re focusing first on making sure the Cancer Hospital ramps up. Then everything else, for the foreseeable future, will be through acquisition,” he added.

Mr. Recio said the company is evaluating hospitals with at least 100 beds, Level 2 classification, and locations in densely populated urban areas.

“We look at the quality of the facility, make sure that it’s not a super fixer-upper. It’s important that there’s a good doctor base associated with it that remains even after we come in. I think those are the important building blocks,” he said.

Alongside its acquisition strategy, AC Health plans to expand its clinic network by opening three to five facilities annually over the next three to five years.

“The target is to expand to three to five clinics per year in major areas where we feel that it’s important for us to be in. I think that’s the target for the next three to five years,” Mr. Recio said.

While many of its clinics are located in shopping malls, AC Health is also considering other formats, including roadside commercial locations.

“It just so happens that the malls sometimes provide us the best location with the most foot traffic that’s most accessible,” Mr. Recio said. “It could be that at some point we have locations in commercial areas that are more roadside also. But we’ll see. It really depends on what opportunities are presented to us.”

As part of its medium-term growth strategy, AC Health aims to expand its network to 1,150 retail pharmacies, 300 clinics, and 10 hospitals through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions.

Earlier this month, HMN expanded its multi-specialty outpatient network to 18 centers nationwide with the opening of its flagship facility at One Ayala in Makati City.

Following the launch of the One Ayala facility, HMN said it plans to open a standard-sized multi-specialty center in Batangas in August and another at McKinley West in Taguig before yearend.

Separately, AC Health, through its pharmaceutical arm AC Health Pharma, entered into a partnership with Japan-based Taisho Pharmaceuticals in June to distribute healthcare products in the Philippines.

Under the agreement, AC Health Pharma will distribute Taisho products through AC Health’s network of pharmacies, clinics, medical centers, and hospitals.

Mr. Recio said the company remains on track to meet its long-term expansion targets despite industry challenges.

“I wouldn’t say we’re ahead. I’d say we’re making good progress… It looks like we’re on track. It’s been an encouraging 2026 so far, despite all the challenges we’ve seen lately,” he said. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno