Bupa, PZU interested in buying Polish medical firm EMC-sources

EMC Instytut Medyczny SA

12/03/2013 13:58

WARSAW, March 12 (Reuters) - British medical services group Bupa  BUPAI.UL  and Poland's top insurer PZU  PZU.WA  will battle several investment funds for Polish hospital group EMC Instytut Medyczny  EMCM.WA , sources close to the talks said.

EMC, whose market value is 160 million zlotys ($50.26 million), owns eight hospitals and 16 specialist medical facilities in the fast-growing Polish market where growing numbers of patients are abandoning state facilities for private ones.

Bupa established a foothold in Poland when it agreed to buy the country's largest medical company Lux Med for 400 million euros in December.

PZU has been looking to expand beyond its core insurance business in Poland and wants to buy rivals in the region.

EMC, Bupa and PZU declined to comment.

The sources would not say which private equity funds were also interested in EMC.

EMC shares have doubled in price since it announced that it was in takeover talks with Swedish fund EQT in October. The discussions collapsed in December.

The stock was down 2.4 percent in afternoon trade. ($1 = 3.1836 Polish zlotys)

(Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko, Pawel Bernat and Chris Borowski; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

((chris.borowski@reuters.com)(+48 22 653 9712)(Reuters Messaging: chris.borowski.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))

Keywords: BUPA PZU/EMC