Blackstone forays into Indian health‘Care’ biz via $700 mn buy

NEW DELHI: Blackstone on Monday said it has inked a pact to acquire a majority stake in the Hyderabad-based Care Hospitals from Evercare, a platform for TPG Rise funds, for $700 mn (around Rs 5,827 cr), thus foraying into the country’s healthcare services sector.

Private equity funds managed by Blackstone have acquired 72.5 per cent in Care Hospitals at an enterprise value of Rs 6,600 crore.

Besides, in a separate deal, Care Hospitals and TPG will acquire an 80 per cent stake in the Kerala-based Kimshealth entailing an outgo of around $400 million, a source confirmed. This will form one of India’s largest hospital platforms with 23 facilities and over 4,000 beds across 11 Indian cities.

Blackstone will put in $300 mn and TPG the rest $100 mn as part of the arrangement.

As per the source, Blackstone is committing $1 billion in the overall deal. The addition of Kimshealth to the Care Hospitals network creates one of India’s largest hospital platforms with 23 facilities across 11 cities in India, the investment fund said.

The deal comes as a post-pandemic boom in demand for private healthcare in India has made the sector attractive, with global investors seeking an entry into healthcare chains in the country, as per an agency report.

“Life sciences is a key investment theme for Blackstone and we plan to bring in our global scale and operating expertise,” said Ganesh Mani, MD, Blackstone Private Equity.

The value of both the deals is between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion, the source added. The companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal.

Care Hospitals Group is a multi-specialty healthcare company founded in 1997, with presence in Aurangabad, Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Indore, Nagpur, Raipur and Visakhapatnam.

Mani said “We are committed to being a long-term investor and business builder. We seek to grow the platform organically and through acquisitions. Life sciences is a key investment theme for Blackstone and we plan to bring in our global scale and operating expertise.”

Ankur Thadani, partner, TPG, said: “We believe there is significant potential in creating a market leading platform through both organic and partnership-driven consolidation efforts.”

True North will sell its entire stake in Kimshealth India as part of the transaction.

The combined platform will deliver advanced comprehensive care in more than 30 clinical specialties, including cardiac sciences and oncology.