Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru (MS)
Bengaluru, Apr 10: Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings has bought Bengaluru-based Manipal Health Enterprises for more than $2 billion in the largest deal in the Indian healthcare space.
With 29 hospitals across 16 cities, Manipal Health Enterprises is the second biggest hospital chain in the country. The sector is led by Apollo.
Already 18% stake in the Manipal Healthcare was held by Sheares Healthcare, owned by Temasek. After buying 41% more stake from Dr Ranjan Pai and family, promoter group and other investors, the stake of Temasek jumped to 59%. The company is valued at $5 billion in the deal.
Competition Commission’s approval is pending for the deal to be made official.
National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIFL) bought 9% stake in Manipal Healthcare for Rs 2100 crore two years ago. It sold its entire stake in the deal. The stake of Dr Ranjan Pai and family will go down to 30% from 52%, while TPG shareholding will fall to 11% from 22%.
Spokesperson of Temasek declined to make any statement on the deal saying that the company will not comment on market speculation. On the part of Manipal Health Enterprises, the concerned authroties said that they have no comment to make at present.
The business started by T M A Pai in 1953 in healthcare and education is expanded to a vast extent by his grandson Ranjan Pai. He pumped in external capital as well as made some bold acquistions. In 2020, Manipal bought Columbia Asia Hospitals for over Rs 2,000 crore. It also acquired, in 2021, Vikram Hospitals for Rs 360 crore.
It is also learnt that Manipal is about to acquire Advanced Medical Research Institute (AMRI), a Kolkata-based healthcare company and the deal said to be on the verge of completion.
At present 8,300 hospital beds throughout the country are owned by the hospital chain. One greenfield project at Raipur and two at Bengaluru are in the pipeline. Once completed the number of beds will rise to 9,200. This is expected to get completed in the next 1.5 years time. Addition of 1,300 beds, once the AMRI deal is sealed, will take the number of beds to 10,500.
A stem cell therapeutics company by the name Stempeutics has begun functioning under the leadership of Ranjan Pai. Therapeutics are developed for embryonic and adult stem cells in this establishment.
Apart from healthcare, the education business of Manipal group is being expanded in a vast manner. Its flagship project of Manipal University in the coastal town of Mangaluru is under way. The group is also building a mammoth campus in Bengaluru which also consists of the popular Srishti Institute of Art Design and Technology that was acquired in 2020 by the group.
From the present deal it seems that the group is concentrating more on education and that is why this partial exit is being made from health care.