Hyderabad: Belying all speculation about the Singapore government-owned Temasek Holdings acquiring Care Hospitals, global PE firm Advent International has sold its entire stake in the city-based hospital to the UAE-based Abraaj Group.
Advent had owned 72 per cent stake of the hospital chain promoted by noted cardiologist Dr B. Soma Raju.
Though neither Advent nor Abraaj has revealed the valuation, the news agency PTI claims that the deal size was “about Rs 1,300 crore, which values the healthcare provider at over Rs 1,800 crore.”
This transaction ends the speculation about Advent’s proposed exit from Care Hospitals. The deal size was earlier speculated to be Rs 1,800 crore — much higher than the current Rs 1,300 crore. The transaction is expected to be concluded by March 2016.
Despite a lower-than- speculated valuation, Advent has made 220 per cent profit on the Rs 660 crore, which it invested in Care about three years ago. The UAE investment firm is also expected to buy some stake from the existing promoters of the healthcare firm, which is the fifth largest healthcare provider in India.
The city-based Quality Care India, the holding firm of Care Hospitals, has 2,600 beds across 16 hospitals in eight cities — Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Raipur, Pune, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Jabalpur and Surat.
Global investment companies are picking up stakes in Indian hospitals, which are expected to do well in the wake of higher economic growth in the country and growing spending power of its people.
In 2015, IHH Healthcare Berhad, owned by Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, acquired a 51 per cent stake in Continental Hospital for Rs 300 crore and 73.4 per cent stake in Global Hospitals for Rs 1,000 crore, both in Hyderabad.
IHH Healthcare, which owns 10 per cent stake in Apollo Hospitals, is also open to hike its stake in India’s largest healthcare provider.
