Thomson Medical acquires FV Hospital

Thomson Medical Group (TMG) has announced its acquisition of Vietnam’s FV Hospital for up to USD381 million, marking the country’s biggest healthcare transaction to-date and Southeast Asia’s largest healthcare acquisition since 2020.

The deal highlights the growing significance of Vietnam’s burgeoning healthcare market and TMG’s continued commitment to expand its footprint in the region.

Under the terms of sales and purchase agreement, TMG has agreed to acquire 100% of Far East Medical Vietnam Limited which operates a range of healthcare facilities in Vietnam, including the multi-disciplinary tertiary FV Hospital and a network of primary and specialist clinics.

“The acquisition of FV Hospital deepens our commitment to the Southeast Asian healthcare sector, expanding our group’s presence across three of the region’s most important geographies in healthcare. FV Hospital provides a strategic foothold for us in Vietnam and a gateway to grow and focus on future investments in this fast-growing market,” said Kiat Lim, TMG’s executive vice chairman, who first initiated discussions with FV Hospital some six months ago.

FV was founded by Dr Jean-Marcel Guillon in 2003 with a group of French physicians who shared the vision of bringing world class healthcare to Vietnam. Located in the burgeoning District 7 of Ho Chi Minh City, FV Hospital has evolved into a full-service, one-stop provider of quality healthcare for patients locally, as well as from Cambodia.

FV Hospital provides care across over 30 medical specialties, including oncology, cardiology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, maternity, and gastroenterology. It has close to 200 operating beds as at 31 December 2022 and is currently undertaking an expansion which will entail a 7- floor structure appended to the existing FV Hospital building.

The FV Group currently has over 1,600 staff, which includes more than 200 Vietnamese and expatriate doctors. FV Hospital also operates, since 2013, an outpatient clinic known as FV Saigon Clinic at the heart of District 1, Ho Chi Minh City’s traditional business district. 

The American Chiropractic Clinic Ltd business consists of a network of four clinics across Vietnam, which was acquired in 2022 to allow for expansion into chiropractic services and the development of sports medicine.

As TMG’s largest strategic acquisition, FV Hospital unlocks the sizeable Vietnamese opportunity for the group, paving the way for further inroads into one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing healthcare markets.

Accelerating healthcare demand in Vietnam is fuelled by a rising middle class, an ageing population, as well as an expanding expatriate population.

Further underpinning the industry’s robust outlook is Vietnam’s rise as a medical tourism destination, thanks to solid demand from neighbouring countries that include Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. 

Medical tourism in the country is estimated to generate annual revenues of approximately $2 billion a year, with recent years seeing an influx of about 300,000 foreign tourists annually for medical checkups and treatments, 40 per cent of whom are concentrated in Ho Chi Minh City.