Apax sells stake in Apollo Hospitals for Rs 530 cr

Oppenheimer Funds picks stake through bulk deal

Apax Partners Europe Managers today sold 63,85,542 equity shares of health care major Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd (AHEL) for Rs 830 a share. The sale has an aggregate value of Rs 530 crore. The same number of shares for the same value was picked by investment manager Oppenheimer Funds. The transaction was through a bulk deal in the Bombay Stock Exchange.

According to the information with the BSE, Apax Partners, which holds the account through HSTN Acquisition (FII), has 1,34,46,657 shares, 9.67 per cent of the total shares of the health care services firm. It also holds 44,17,069 global depositary receipts (GDRs), which amount to a share capital of 3.17 per cent of the total shares in the company. Including this, the total share capital held by the company after the transaction is around 8.25 per cent, compared with the total share capital of 12.84 per cent, including the GDRs before the transaction.  

The shares sold today total to 47.48 per cent of the 9.67 per cent shares held by the private equity firm in AHEL.

There were several reports suggesting the private equity player is looking at exiting the investment, since the investment had reached its exit period.

It may be noted that Apax Partners, in March, had transfered its equity shares in AHEL into HSTN Acquisition Ltd. According to earlier reports, Apax Partners picked up around 11.5 per cent shares in Apollo Hospitals for around $104 million (around Rs 420 crore as per the currency value at that time).