Abhay Soi-led Max Healthcare Institute Ltd said Friday it will acquire the 550-bed Sahara Hospital in Lucknow for an enterprise value of Rs 940 crore (about $113 million).
Max Healthcare, one of India’s largest hospital chains, said it has signed a pact to buy Starlit Medical Centre Pvt. Ltd through its unit Crosslay Remedies Ltd. Starlit had earlier entered into an agreement with Sahara India Medical Institute Ltd to buy Sahara Hospital on a slump sale basis.
Max Healthcare had acquired Crosslay Remedies, which owns and operates Max hospitals in two Uttar Pradesh cities, Vaishali and Noida, in July 2015.
The Sahara acquisition marks Max Healthcare’s entry into Lucknow, the company said. It said it will bring high-end medical programmes such as oncology and organ transplants as well as strengthen the existing specialities.
The hospital, located at the upmarket Gomti Nagar area in the Uttar Pradesh capital, is housed in a 17-storey building with a built-up area of about 8.9 lakh sq ft. It offers multi-disciplinary care in various specialities like gastroenterology, neuro, surgery, cardiology, pulmonology and diagnostics facilities. It also has a nursing college on the same premises, Max said.
Soi, chairman and managing director at Max Healthcare, said the acquisition is in line with the company's strategy to enter new Tier I and Tier II cities that have a developed healthcare services ecosystem. "Given our track record of successful post-merger integration, we expect to quickly improve the operating and financial performance on the strength of medical excellence of our clinicians and continued patronage from our patients," he said.
Max Healthcare was previously backed by private equity giant KKR. The American buyout fully exited the hospital chain last year. KKR bought into Max when the PE firm and Soi’s hospital chain Radiant Life acquired it in 2018.
The healthcare company currently counts Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and Rajiv Jain-led asset management firm GQG Partners as investors. GIC held an 8.72% stake in Max while GQG Partners, best known for its investments in Adani Group companies, owned 2.55% in the hospital chain at the end of September, stock-exchange data show.