Blackstone, CVC, Temasek, Max Healthcare in fray for Care Hospitals

Care Hospitals

Strategic and private equity investors including Blackstone, CVC Capital, Temasek and Max Healthcare are in the race to acquire Care Hospitals from Evercare, a wholly owned entity of TPG Growth, business daily Economic Times has reported.

Care Hospitals is among the largest hospital chains in the country and the deal involving 2,400 beds—15 hospitals in India and two in Bangladesh—will value it at around Rs 7,500 crore, the report said.

If the deal goes through, it would be India’s second-largest hospital buyout after the IHH-Fortis transaction in 2018.

Moneycontrol reported earlier this year that Evercare was planning to exit Care Hospitals.

The first round of bids is in and two-three entities would be shortlisted in a few weeks, the report said. Investment banks Rothschild and Barclays are advising TPG on the sale process.

Moneycontrol couldn’t verify the report independently.

Also Read: IHH assumes control of Fortis, latter’s board approves Rs 4,000cr preferential allotment

Care Hospitals began as a cardiac hospital in 1997 in Hyderabad with 100 beds and now has a network of 15 facilities in six states with more than 2,400 beds offering 30 clinical specialties in India and Bangladesh.

It has two hospitals in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka with 1,000 beds.

Care added 250 beds in July by acquiring Indore-based CHL Hospitals for Rs 350 crore.

In 2018, TPG Growth-backed Evercare acquired the healthcare portfolio of UAE’s Abraaj Growth Markets Health Fund, which owned a majority stake in CARE Hospitals.

India’s healthcare industry has been growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 22 percent since 2016. At this rate, it is expected to reach $372 billion in 2022, a 2021 Niti Ayog report said.

A 2020 Human Development Report said that India ranked 155th in bed availability, with five beds and 8.6 doctors per 10,000 people.

India needs to add 3.6 million beds, 3 million doctors and 6 million nurses over the next 20 years, a recent PwC report said. The hospital industry would require an investment of around $245 billion over the next 20 years, the report said.