Apollo Hospitals' holding company to sell 7% to KKR

Proceeds of money will be utilised to pay portion of debt and for other 'new things'

PCR Investments, the holding company of Apollo Hospitals, has said it would sell seven per cent stake in itself to private equity (PE) fund Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR).

This stake was equivalent to three-four per cent stake in Apollo Hospitals, said PCR Investments.

The PE investor is expected to pump in about $100 million.

Apollo’s founder and chairman Prathap C Reddy, on Monday said, “It (the deal) would have been concluded last month, but the rupee depreciation and he (KKR’s partner) had to go abroad; that is why it is delayed. We will conclude it soon, as there is no debatable point at this time.”

The proceedings of the deal would be used to repay a part of the debt and for other “new things”.

Asked whether Apollo was considering raising funds to expand its chain of pharmacies, Reddy said, “Soon, we will touch 2,000 pharmacies, maybe in the next six months. Then, we will look for an investor who would be a strategic investor, not a PE.”

Earlier, he had said Apollo was in talks with global retail chains such as Walmart to expand its pharmacy business. “We want to enter into a reverse-sourcing agreement with somebody who is big on this,” Reddy had said.