Manipal Hospitals, the second-largest hospital chain in India, announced on Wednesday its acquisition of an 84 percent stake in AMRI Hospitals Ltd taking its bed capacity across the country to 9500, a strong second-largest national healthcare provider in the country.

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Singapore government’s investment arm Temasek Holdings which owns 59 percent of Manipal Hospitals has paid Rs 2300 crore to Emami Group promoters including debt, sources close to the development told PTI.

The enterprise valuation was Rs 2400 crore and the books of AMRI had a debt of Rs 1600 crore, sources added.

The Manipal Hospitals entered the eastern market with the acquisition of Columbia Asia Hospitals in 2021 which had a single hospital in Kolkata's Salt Lake area.

The acquisition provides Manipal Hospitals with a larger footprint and an expanded presence in Eastern India, establishing it as the largest hospital chain in the region.

The Emami Group will retain a 15 percent stake in the hospital chain as an investor, while the West Bengal government will continue to maintain a one percent stake, a joint statement said.

"The acquisition aligns with Manipal Hospitals' growth strategy of establishing a larger presence in Eastern India, where we grow further despite already being the largest hospital chain in the region. This acquisition will help us to expand into tier II cities of the eastern region," Manipal Hospitals managing director and CEO Dilip Jose told PTI over phone. The integration of AMRI hospitals will be done over the next 6-8 months including rebranding to Manipal hospitals, he said without divulging financial details.

The AMRI hospital chain currently operates in three places - Dhakuria, Mukundapur and Salt Lake - in Kolkata, as well as Bhubaneswar, with a combined capacity of over 1,200 beds, more than 800 doctors, and over 5,000 healthcare professionals.

"In an effort to focus on our core businesses, we have divested our majority stake in AMRI Hospitals, a significant step in Emami Group's stated objective. However, we will continue to be investors in AMRI Hospitals with a 15 percent stake. The Government of West Bengal will also retain a one percent stake in AMRI Hospitals," stated Emami Group director Aditya Agarwal.

Ranjan Pai, Chairman of Manipal Education and Medical Group his in reaction said, "Manipal Hospitals has always had patrons from Eastern India and neighbouring regions like Bangladesh. This acquisition is in line with our goal to further strengthen our presence and serve patients in Eastern India, an underserved area in terms of healthcare Jose hoped the brand would help reduce the number of patients travelling to South India to a great extent. Manipal now has 9500 beds in 33 hospitals spread over 17 cities.

Apollo Hospitals website claims to have 10,000 beds, across 64 hospitals.