London-listed Medica Group has acquired Global Diagnostics Ireland (GDI) from its parent Centric Health for an initial cash consideration of €16 million.
Based in Balally, near Dundrum in Dublin, GDI was established by Dr Johnny Walker in 2007 to operate diagnostic managed services, including teleradiology reporting services .
The company now operates at more than 50 clinical sites within Ireland, employing a team of more than 140 people. It offers a range of diversified services, including 'scan only' or 'scan and report' managed-service radiology solutions for plain film, ultrasound, CT and MRI. Clients include the Health Service Executive (HSE) and a range of private healthcare providers.
In addition, GDI, trading as Global Vision, provides dedicated eye screening and surveillance services on behalf of the Irish National Screening Service for patients at risk of diabetic retinopathy.
For the 12 months ending June 30th, 2020, GDI reported revenues of €7.3 million, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation of €1.1 million and a pretax profit of €700,000.
Diversification
Medica said the acquisition was in line with its strategy to diversify revenue sources outside of Britain, to continue to further its market leadership position in teleradiology, and expand into new areas of telemedicine.
It added the deal is expected to be strongly earnings-enhancing with return on invested expected to be approximately twice the cost of capital.
"We have been evaluating the Irish market for teleradiology for the past year and in GDI we have found an ideal partner that shares our focus to provide the highest quality radiology services," said Medica chief executive Dr Stuart Quin.
“GDI has built a strong reputation amongst radiologists, as well as hospital and primary care clients across Ireland. Additionally, in partnership with leading ophthalmologists in Ireland, they have built a strong reputation in the delivery of diabetic retinopathy screening services which cover 50 per cent of the Irish market,” he added.
Shares in Medica were trading nearly 9 per cent higher in London on Wednesday.
