Manipal Hospitals looks for more inorganic growth opportunities

Kolkata: Manipal Hospitals, which has recently pumped in around Rs 2,450 crore for inorganic growth, is open for ”more acquisitions” and is in the process of adding 700-800 beds through its ongoing expansion projects, a company official said on Friday.

The group has concluded the takeover of 11 Colombia Asia Hospitals in India with a cash deal of Rs 2,100-2,200 crore, and also acquired Bangalore-based Vikram Hospital at Rs 350 crore, he said. It has also completed re-branding of all the acquired facilities with its Manipal brand, and the group is also expanding its footprint in the Bangladesh market but through a management contract, the official said.

”We had no presence in the eastern and western parts of India. With the takeover of Colombia Asia, we now have one running hospital in Kolkata and another under-construction facility in Pune. We are open for more acquisition opportunities,” Manipal Health Enterprises chief operating officer Karthik Rajagopal told PTI.

He also said the group has been in dialogue with Kolkata-based AMRI Hospitals but no conclusion has been reached yet.

”We have to grow in the east. One hospital with about 90 beds is not enough. Greenfield projects take several years. Hence, we are open for more acquisition and management contract opportunities in this part of the country,” Rajagopal said.

AMRI operates four hospitals- three in Kolkata and one in Odhisa – having a combined bed capacity of around 1,000.

Manipal Hospitals currently has nearly 7,300 beds in its 27 facilities, including the acquired ones. ”In the next 3-4 years, organic expansion of three hospitals will be completed, and with these projects, 700-800 beds are to be added to the current inventory. Two hospitals are coming up in Bangalore and one is under construction in Pune (this was part of Colombia Asia),” Rajagopal said.

”A 150-bed multi-speciality hospital is under construction in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This is not our property, and it will be completed in 2024 and run through a management or franchise model. This will be Manipal’s re-entry into the overseas market,” he said.

The group had a hospital in Malaysia, which was hived off.

The promoter’s holding in the Manipal Health Enterprises is around 55 per cent and the rest by other private equity investors.

Rajagopal said patient flow has reached 80-85 per cent of the pre-Covid levels and in the current fiscal, it is expected to touch Rs 4,000 crore revenue.