Aster Whitefield Hospital.
Credit: Special Arrangement
Bengaluru: Dismissing media speculations that Aster DM Healthcare is looking to sell its India business, the hospital conglomerate’s chairman and managing director, Dr Azad Moopen, explicitly told DH, in an exclusive interview that his company is, in fact, investing heavily in the southern markets of Kerala and Karnataka to enhance its capacity by 1,500 beds over the next 3 years, to take its overall number to 6,000 beds.
“Some of our long standing private equity partners, who’ve been with us for 10 years, are selling their stake and trying to go out if there is a proper price,” he explained, while denying any plans by the company to exit India.
On the other hand, the healthcare major is now on a brownfield expansion which will also see it adding 7,500 people to their workforce. Beyond this, the UAE-headquartered firm, is exploring new markets, such as Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra and is not averse to inorganic growth for this.
However, this process will begin only after the brand segregates its India and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) businesses, wherein the India arm will remain a listed company as the GCC chapter remains a private entity. “Once India (business) becomes separate, that’s the time when we will go aggressively for acquiring new hospitals or chains of hospitals,” Moopen said.
He added that alongside the restructuring, the company may see a new set of private equity partners as some existing investors make their exit. Moopen expects the separation process to conclude in the January-March quarter of the ongoing fiscal year.
Going forward, the healthcare major aspires to become a top player in Bengaluru, alongside increasing its footprint to have a significant presence in other southern markets.