Following the announcement of the sale of Vamed’s rehabilitation business, the global healthcare group Fresenius has initiated a structured exit from its investment in Vamed. An Austrian consortium of construction companies, Porr and Strabag, has agreed to acquire Vamed’s operations in its Austrian home market for a total purchase price of 90 million Euros. The transaction includes Vamed’s entities responsible for the technical management of the Vienna General Hospital (AKH Wien), the Austrian project business that is part of Vamed’s Health Tech Engineering segment, and shares in several spas throughout Austria. The planned transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.
Vamed’s High-End Services (HES) business unit, which provides services for Fresenius Helios and other hospitals, will be transferred to Fresenius. HES generates around half of its revenue through its provision of services to Helios hospitals, offering facility and medical technology management for more than 840 hospitals. HES is a stable business with good growth prospects and accounts for around 30% of Vamed’s revenue, with profitability in the mid-single-digit percentage range.
The Health Tech Engineering segment, responsible for the international project business and accounting for around 15% of Vamed’s revenue, will gradually be scaled back in an orderly manner, a process expected to be largely completed by 2026. Until then, the business will be reported as a special item outside Fresenius’ core business, with current project contracts being fulfilled.
These divestments will lead to non-cash special items of around €0.6 billion. Due to the exit from the project business, high triple-digit-million Euro special items are expected, which will be spread over the next few years and mostly cash effective.
As of Q2 2024, Vamed will no longer be a reporting segment of Fresenius. This step is expected to improve the Group’s profitability by more than 50 basis points, reduce net debt, and increase the Group’s return on invested capital (ROIC). Additionally, it will significantly enhance the transparency and quality of earnings.
“We have found a holistic and viable solution for the Vamed businesses, creating good prospects for the future. It is the best outcome for patients, for Vamed, and for Fresenius. With the exit from Vamed, our strategic portfolio restructuring has been completed as planned. Fresenius is already a simpler, stronger, and more innovative company due to the consistent implementation of #FutureFresenius. We now have even more opportunities to provide world-class therapies and improve people’s health,” said Fresenius CEO Michael Sen.
Dr. Michael Moser, the member of the Fresenius Management Board responsible for the Vamed business, added: “We are pleased that Vamed’s High-End Services business is joining Fresenius. We have found a very good solution for both the rehabilitation business with PAI and the Austrian project business with the Austrian owners Porr and Strabag. This enables us to create long-term growth opportunities. We are now looking for fair solutions for the employees affected by the gradual ramp-down of our project business outside of Austria.
