Ramesh Batra, promoter of Nidaan Hospital, one of the major landmarks in Sonipat in Haryana, had been in discussions to sell the hospital for over a year but valuation issues and Covid-19 came in the way.
Four months earlier, boutique investment bank AMDP Advisors stepped in to advise Nidaan Hospital, resulting in its sale to Gurugram based Park Group of Hospitals.
Drishti Pahwa and Adhiraj Mehra of AMDP Advisors said that the transaction will boost Nidaan Hospital's capacity to 250 beds to become the largest healthcare facility in the region. They declined to disclose the deal value but said that the transaction involved a complex structure with the complete takeover of Nidaan Hospital.
"Hospital deals are tough to transact and it is hard to close all the processes virtually. So, despite the Covid-19 we had to make arrangements for face to face meetings to complete the deal," said Pahwa.
With the acquisition, Park Group of Hospitals will get access to a growing market in Sonipat that is becoming well known with big educational institutions coming up such as OP Jindal Global University and Ashoka University, explained Mehra.
Nidaan Hospital's Batra will not be involved in the management and will pursue philanthropic work. The hospital's origin goes back to 1983 when Batra started offering medical services at a small rented clinic in Sonipat. It grew over the years to install the first cath lab in Haryana in 2001. It also boasts being the first to have intensive care facility and non-invasive cardiac evaluation lab in the region.
Park Group of Hospitals was founded in 1982 by Ajit Gupta (chairman). It started with the establishment of the first hospital in Delhi. Currently, it has a total of 12 hospitals in Delhi NCR and Haryana as well as in Rajasthan, according to its websites. The company has followed both organic and inorganic routes for its expansion.
Dealmaking in healthcare across private equity, venture capital, and mergers and acquisitions touched a peak amid the pandemic during the first half of 2021 both in terms of volume and value, shows a VCCircle analysis.
The hospital sector has seen some action this year after a relatively quiet 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Hospital chain Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences Ltd (KIMS) floated its initial public offering (IPO) this year.
Earlier this month, Manipal Hospitals, which is backed by Temasek and TPG, bought Multiples PE owned Vikram Hospital. This was its second acquisition in under seven months after purchasing Columbia Asia Hospitals Pvt Ltd.
