Geinberg & Co.

Porr and Strabag buy domestic thermal spas

St. Martins in Burgenland and the other locations, including their workforce, are safe.

(Bild: Rudy Dellinger)

The largest domestic thermal spa group with six locations (e.g. Laa, Geinberg, St. Martins) is becoming "Austrian" again: the construction giants Porr and Strabag are buying the spas from Vamed, a subsidiary of the German Fresenius Group. The package also includes the operation of the Vienna General Hospital.

The two construction companies will pay around 90 million euros for this and will continue to operate the thermal baths and the rest of the acquired business through a joint company.

Both are already partially active in the healthcare sector and want to strengthen this. Porr, for example, is already involved in eight healthcare facilities and clinics and has 20 years of experience in planning and operating hospitals. "This is a logical expansion into the healthcare business. We look forward to working with the City of Vienna on the operational management and further construction projects at the AKH", explains Porr CEO Karl-Heinz Strauss on the deal. "The more than 1,150 employees will certainly keep their jobs, and we even want to increase their numbers."

After two years of cost explosions, losses
The direct entry into the tourism sector is new. With Therme Wien, St. Martins (Burgenland), Laa (Lower Austria), Geinberg (Upper Austria), the Salzburg Tauern Spa (Zell/See) and the Aqua Dome (Tyrol), Porr and Strabag are now the largest spa operators in the country. Previously, they belonged to the globally active hospital planning specialist Vamed (20,000 employees) with headquarters in Vienna via Vamed Vitality World. Following cost explosions in foreign projects and other management errors, the company slipped into the red and the management team led by long-term CEO Ernst Wastler was replaced.

Since 2022, the German majority owner of Vamed, Fresenius, itself in crisis, has wanted to get rid of the unloved Austrian subsidiary. It is now being sold off piece by piece and the international project business is largely being discontinued. The state holding company Öbag, which owns 13% of Vamed, is also satisfied. It is important to maintain the locations, and this is now guaranteed, they say.