Life Healthcare to buy $108 mln stake in Max Healthcare

South Africa's Life Healthcare said it would pay about USD 108 million for a quarter stake in Indian private hospital firm Max Healthcare, giving it a sizeable exposure to the fast-growing market.

Life Healthcare, South Africa's second-largest private hospital group by market value, has said it wants to expand beyond its core market of South Africa, where it competes with rivals Medi Clinic and Netcare.

The company said in a statement it plans to buy 26% of Max Healthcare, a unit of Indian conglomerate Max India, for about 850 million rand (USD 108 million) in cash.

Max Healthcare is one India's largest private healthcare providers, Life Healthcare said.

The deal will require exchange control approval from the South African Reserve Bank and may also require regulatory approval, the South African company said.

Life Healthcare operates 56 hospitals and maintains more than 7,000 beds in South Africa.

The company said it was being advised on the deal by Rand Merchant Bank, a unit of South Africa's FirstRand.

Shares of Life Healthcare are up about a third so far this year, outperforming its two main rivals, and the broad All-Share index, which is down nearly 4%.

(USD 1 = 7.906 South African Rand)