Mumbai: Investors in Aster DM Healthcare is in talks to sell its 30% stake. India According to two sources with direct knowledge, the latest deal, which could fetch around $300 million, IndiaThe fastest growing healthcare sector.
Based in UAE and listed in Mumbai Aster operates 32 hospitals, 127 clinics and 521 pharmacies in India and the United Arab Emirates. The current talks are related to the India business, which Reuters reported last month as Aster was about to divest its Gulf business and sell its majority stake in the business.
Astor and his advisers have reached out to private equity giant KKR & Co Inc. max health care The Institute, one of India’s largest hospital chains, will hold preliminary talks to acquire an investor’s stake, said a person familiar with the matter.
Investors considering a sale of Aster are Olympus Capital, which owns 19% of the company, and Mauritius-based investment firm Rimco (12%).
Astor appointed a New York-based investment bank Maurice & Co will manage the transaction, the two people said, asking not to be identified because the negotiations are private.
Spokesmen for KKR and Olympus declined to comment, but Aster, Rimco, Maurice Max did not respond to Reuters’ questions.
Private hospitals are very popular in India, and federal spending on healthcare is low, so investors remain bullish on the sector’s growth in the country of 1.4 billion people.
In April, Singapore-based Temasek invested $2 billion to acquire a controlling stake in Manipal Health Enterprises. And last year, KKR made its biggest exit from India by selling its 27% stake. max health care over $1 billion.
Indian hospital chains have raised $2 billion from private equity funds this year, compared with a record $3.2 billion last year, according to Dealogic data.
“Medical care is still underdeveloped in India relative to its population, so as India develops, investors see it as a huge opportunity,” said one of the sources.
Separately, amid ongoing talks to sell a 30% stake in the Indian business, Aster said other hospital chains were interested in acquiring more stakes in the healthcare operator, although the strategy has not yet been finalized. The first person said they plan to find out if there is.
Aster is mainly found in the southern Indian states of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. The company competes with other large hospital chains such as Fortis Healthcare, Manipal Hospitals and Max, which have raised money from global investors in recent years.
“Aster is currently the last remaining large hospital chain that private equity and strategic investors can participate in. There are not many other established hospital chains,” said the first official.
In the fiscal year ended March 31, Aster’s revenue increased 16% to $1.46 billion, with net income of $51.36 million.
