MidEuropa exited Romania-based Regina Maria Group in a landmark transaction, handing control to Finland’s Mehiläinen in what marks Central Europe’s largest healthcare services deal to date.

US private equity firm Hellman & Friedman has joined Mehiläinen as a major investor, alongside existing backer CVC Funds, which first took a stake in 2018. The addition of H&F is expected to fast-track Mehiläinen’s international expansion plans.

The Regina Maria Group includes a network of private healthcare providers operating under the Regina Maria brand in Romania and the MediGroup brand in Serbia, serving over 3 million patients annually.

MidEuropa initially acquired Regina Maria in 2015 and later added MediGroup in 2018. The two were integrated into a single platform in 2021. Over its holding period, MidEuropa invested more than €300m ($325m) to drive growth and innovation, expanding the group from approximately 50 to over 400 facilities and overseeing around 40 bolt-on acquisitions. Learn more about investments and acquisitions in the CEE area by joining the CEE Private Equity Conference in Warsaw. 

Matthew Strassberg, partner at MidEuropa, said the firm achieved “an approximately ten-fold increase in the group’s revenues and Ebitda.” Digital innovation was a key part of the growth, with more than 1 million telemedicine consultations recorded over the past three years.

The deal comes on the heels of MidEuropa’s €400m+ IPO of Diagnostyka in Poland and reflects its continued success in European healthcare exits. Previous notable divestments include Lux Med to Bupa, Alpha Medical to Unilabs, and Kent Hospital to Acıbadem.

Mehiläinen’s CEO Janne-Olli Järvenpää said the new investment “plays a key role in supporting Mehiläinen’s leadership in international expansion and service development.”

This latest transaction strengthens MidEuropa’s reputation in the sector and aligns with its active strategy in building pan-European healthcare champions.