Apollo to dilute 5% equity, QIP opens

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd (AHEL) is planning to dilute around five per cent equity through qualified institutional placements (QIP), which opened today. While the total QIP is for Rs 900 crore, the first tranche which opened today is for Rs 330 crore through equity.

Apollo Hospitals managing director Preetha Reddy said, “We are launching the QIP,” but did not disclose any other details. A senior executive of the hospital chain said the dilution would be five per cent at Rs 495 per share, the price at which the stock was trading at Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday.

He added that the investment would be from a combination of foreign institutional investors (FIIs), domestic mutual funds and other institutions.

The amount being raised would fund Apollo's expansion plan. The Chennai-based hospital chain is planning to add around 2,400 more beds over the next 2-3 years.

At present, it has 8,700 beds, including three hospitals in Mumbai, four small-sized ones in tier-2 cities under Apollo Reach project and a 200-bed hospital on the outskirts of Chennai. The expansion plans include brownfield projects, he said.

The total fund required for the expansion, which is already under implementation, is around Rs 1,100 crore. Of this, the company has already invested around Rs 277 crore, and around Rs 850 crore would be invested in the next two to three years, said the official.

It may be noted that Apollo Hospitals got the shareholder nod to raise around Rs 900 crore through QIP, through equity, debt and warrants.

However, according to the official, the company is currently not looking at debt and warrants as an option to raise funds, since the bets are high at present. So, warrants, which comes along with debts were also not an option for the time being, he said.

“This fund-raising would enable us to carry on capital infusions over the next 15-18 months. We would be looking at debt and warrants at a later stage,” he said.