Fortis plans to list SRL in 2011

Fortis Healthcare Chairman Malvinder Mohan Singh on Wednesday said it planned to launch an IPO for its diagnostics business unit, Super Religare Laboratories (SRL), in 2011. SRL had acquired the diagnostics business of Piramal Healthcare for Rs 600 crore in the first quarter of this financial year.

“We have decided to list our diagnostics business unit, SRL, in the next calendar year,” he said.

The company has not fixed any time frame for the secondary listing of the Fortis Healthcare Group on the Singapore stock exchange, he said, adding it was on the lookout for inorganic growth opportunities in both domestic and Asian markets.

“We are looking for the right (acquisition) opportunities. We are open to acquisitions in India and Asia,” Singh said, even as the group eyes consolidation of its Asian business.

In the next two-three years, the hospital chain would add another 3,000 beds to take its total bed capacity to 10,000, he said.

The Fortis Cancer Institute here at Mulund is the second cancer institute by the Fortis group after its NCR facility.

Set up at over Rs 80 crore investment, the facility will offer comprehensive customised, cancer treatment with dedicated consultants across medical, surgical and radiation oncology, backed by the latest in cancer technology.

“The cancer institute in Mumbai will expand the spectrum of our super specialty and provide unparalleled care to cancer patients with an integrated approach,” he said.

He said the facility would be the first in India to acquire the most sophisticated radiation therapy equipment, Elekta Synergy LINEAC with Volumetric Modulated ARC Therapy, which can treat tumors and small lesions in brain and other parts of the body quickly with precision.