KKR postpones sale of majority interest in MPIC hospital group

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April 6, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — KKR & Co. will remain in charge of Metro Pacific Health (MPH), the largest private hospital group in the country, with its planned exit not happening anytime soon.

“There’s no trade sale for KKR. They postponed it,” Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) chairman, president and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

“The valuation that they want, it’s hard for them to get. Well, I guess with Iran (war), it could be a little challenging,” he said.

KKR and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC have previously launched a sale process for their majority stake in MPH, which has 29 hospitals in its portfolio at present.

KKR and GIC hold an 80 percent stake in MPH, while MPIC owns the remaining 20 percent.

“So it’s status quo,”Pangilinan said.

MPIC was earlier looking to secure another 30 percent stake in its health care arm as part of the proposed stake sale by MPH’s majority shareholders.

The planned exit of KKR and GIC in MPH was previously stalled because the target price was not achieved.

“But they’re doing well.  it’s an opportunity to buy more hospitals,” Pangilinan said.

MPIC sold shares in MPH to KKR and GIC in 2019 in a deal aimed at enabling the hospital group to further grow its network.

MPH’s last acquisition was its investment in Tanza Specialists Medical Center last year, its 29th hospital.

Pangilinan earlier said that his personal target is for the group to reach 50 hospitals in the next five years.

From its maiden investment in Makati Medical Center in 2007, MPH has emerged as the country’s largest private hospital group.

Meanwhile, Pangilinan said it is still uncertain if the ongoing tensions in the Middle East will affect fintech player Maya’s plan to go public through a dual listing that will start overseas in the second half of the year.

“It's hard to say because of Iran, but it’s already in process,” said Pangilinan, chairman, president and CEO of PLDT Inc., which owns a partial stake in Maya.

Initially launched as an e-wallet, Maya has expanded into a full-service digital bank and now offers savings accounts, consumer and enterprise loans, payments, merchant services as well as cryptocurrency trading.

Pangilinan earlier said the fintech plans a dual listing, beginning in the United States, which will be followed by an initial public offering in the Philippines.