Ad-hoc | 15 September 2011 18:00
Genolier Swiss Medical Network (GSMN) / Key word(s): Acquisition/Acquisition 15.09.2011 18:00 Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 72 KR --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ermanno Sarra will become GSMN's second largest shareholder whilst remaining Managing Director of the Ticino clinics. Genolier Swiss Medical Network (GSMN) today signed a contract with the shareholders of Gruppo Ospedaliere Ars Medica (GOAM) to integrate two Ticino clinics, Ars Medica and Sant'Anna, into the GSMN network. Ermanno Sarra, who will continue as Managing Director of GOAM, will become the second largest shareholder of Genolier Swiss Medical Network. With a turnover of almost CHF 80 million, these two clinics will enable Genolier Swiss Medical Network to achieve a turnover of more than CHF 300 million in 2012. The merger of the two groups is another step towards GSMN's goal of creating a national network of private hospitals. Details of the transaction will appear in GSMN's capital increase prospectus. GSMN and Ermanno Sarra have signed a contract today for the acquisition by the former of 100% of the share-capital of GOAM. The positioning and philosophy of GOAM, based on top quality medical and hospital care, perfectly match those of GSMN. The group of Ticino clinics comprises two private hospitals: Ars Medica Clinic, located in Lugano-Gravesano, and Clinica Sant'Anna, in Lugano-Sorengo. Ermanno Sarra, Managing Director of GOAM, will retain his position and become GSMN's Ticino representative. With the integration of these two clinics on 1 January 2012, GSMN is set to achieve an annual turnover of more than CHF 300 million. Significant medical and financial synergies are expected from this merger, which will result in the consolidation of the GSMN clinics' position. The transaction involves the takeover of the entire share-capital of the Ars Medica and Sant'Anna clinics' operating companies and provides for the acquisition by Ermanno Sarra of a significant stake in GSMN, of which he will become the second largest shareholder. The operation will be partly financed by a capital increase for GSMN, with details to be published in the issue prospectus. The strategy developed by Ars Medica in Ticino since 1989 will be continued and no major changes are anticipated in the activities or structures of the two establishments. The investment programme currently under way will be strengthened and the development projects will be supported by GSMN. GSMN intends to continue and intensify the cooperation of the clinics with admitting physicians, in line with the initiatives realised by the Group in its other private hospitals: the development of independent establishments, firmly rooted in the regional healthcare environment but benefiting from the strength and structures of a national group. Founded in 1989 by Ermanno Sarra, Ars Medica Clinic has become the undisputed leader and cantonal reference centre for orthopaedic surgery and traumatology of the locomotor system. Perfectly organised around this discipline, with 12 in-house consulting rooms, 75 beds, a specialist emergency unit, dedicated radiology department, 4 operating theatres fully equipped for arthroscopic and prosthetic surgery and a physiotherapy unit with a pool, Ars Medica carries out more than 3'000 operations every year. Cooperation between the surgeons is based on a model of individual hyperspecialisation, which has the benefit of offering patients direct, immediate access to hand and elbow, shoulder, hip, knee, ankle and foot specialists. This approach, which enables certain operations to be carried out by a small number of surgeons, has a significant positive impact on quality. Clinica Sant'Anna - the cradle of the Ticino population - was founded in Lugano by the sisters of the 'Gemeinschaft der St. Anna Schwestern' of Lucerne in 1922. Located in Sorengo since 1934, it is the largest maternity hospital in Ticino and one of the largest private maternity clinics in Switzerland, with approximately 900 births every year and a neonatal unit for the intensive care of premature babies. With 87 beds, it occupies a central position in the region's public healthcare, particularly in the fields of women's health, senology, oncology, internal medicine and, with its 5 operating theatres, specialist surgery. Since May 2011, Clinica Sant'Anna also runs the first Centre for Preventive Medicine in Ticino, serving the general population as well as businesses offering healthcare to their employees. Expansion and modernisation work is in progress and should be completed by summer 2012 with the opening of 10 new private rooms, which will be equipped with very high quality hotel services, and an outpatient clinic for medical care, oncology and surgery. Gruppo Ospedaliere Ars Medica, which manages the two Ticino hospitals, carried out more than 7'000 surgical operations in 2010, with a turnover exceeding CHF 75 million, as a result of close cooperation with more than 110 practising physicians and 380 full-time employees. The merger of the two groups of clinics will further consolidate the position of private hospitals in Switzerland whilst improving the quality of medical care and hotel services. This acquisition represents an important step for the GSMN Group, in terms of both quantity and quality, allowing it to enter a new canton and a new linguistic region. GSMN's aim is to turn Lugano into an internationally renowned medical centre and to develop the Italian market. Over the next three years, GSMN is planning to invest more than CHF 15 million in GOAM infrastructures to further improve the medical and hotel offering. As with the integration of other clinics into GSMN, major synergies can be realised with the Ticino hospitals, particularly with regards to purchasing, marketing, IT and insurer relations, etc. Genolier Swiss Medical Network SA (GSMN) is the second largest network of private clinics in Switzerland. Its growth strategy focuses on the creation of a national network through the acquisition of clinics and the restructuring of their operations. GSMN's main aim is to offer first class hospital care to Swiss and foreign patients. The distinctive features of GSMN include its high quality services, its brand value, a pleasant working environment and an experienced management team with an entrepreneurial approach. GSMN currently operates seven private establishments in Switzerland (Clinique de Genolier, Clinique de Montchoisi, Clinique Valmont, Clinique Générale, Centre médico-chirurgical des Eaux-Vives, Privatklinik Bethanien and Klinik Lindberg), with more than 660 practising physicians and 1'200 employees. The Group is listed on the Domestic Standard of the SIX Swiss Exchange (GSMN:SW). For further information: Séverine Van der Schueren GSMN General Secretary Tel. +41 22 366 99 87 svanderschueren@gsmn.ch Jérôme Puginier Ars Medica Tel. +41 91 985 15 83 jerome.puginier@arsmedica.ch 15.09.2011 News transmitted by EquityStory AG. The issuer is responsible for the contents of the release. EquityStory publishes regulatory releases, media releases on the capital market and press releases. 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