Romania's second largest private medical services provider, Regina Maria, announced on March 22 it has taken over Ponderas hospital in Bucharest, increasing its number of hospitals to five.

The acquisition, which is pending approval from the competition regulator, is in line with the healthcare provider’s plans to expand its network. Last week, Regina Maria signed a €15mn agreement to develop its first hospital in the city of Cluj Napoca.

“This year, we have a separate budget for acquisitions and we hope we will announce other acquisitions,” Regina Maria’s general manager, Fady Chreih said, according to economica.net.

The health care provider’s turnover could reach €100mn this year, following a 20% rise to around €66mn last year.

The Ponderas hospital, with an area of 9,000 square metres and a capacity of 141 beds, will become Regina Maria’s largest hospital. Last year, Ponderas posted a turnover of €16.1mn.The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Regina Maria is majority owned by investment fund Mid Europa Partners which took over the Romanian healthcare provider last year. The deal was estimated at more than €100mn.

Regina Maria is not the only Romanian private medical services provider planning expansion. MedLife, the largest private healthcare provider, signed at the beginning of March an agreement to borrow €56mn from Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR), ING Bank, Raiffeisen Bank and BRD, planning to use €20mn for acquisitions, according to earlier press reports.