KKR pumps ₹13,188 cr into India expansion, acquires Medicover hospitals

KKR will acquire Medicover India's hospital business in a €1.2 billion deal, strengthening its healthcare portfolio and expanding its footprint across southern and western India

Global investment firm KKR on Thursday said it has signed definitive agreements to fully acquire the Indian hospital business of Sweden-based Medicover AB, valuing the enterprise at €1.2 billion (Rs 13,187.64 crore at current exchange rates).

 

The deal marks KKR's biggest healthcare transaction in India since its re-entry into the Indian healthcare market in 2024.

 

The acquisition involves KKR buying a 100 per cent stake in the company. Consequently, Medicover AB (which owns 66.1 per cent) and the minority partners holding the remaining 33.9 per cent will exit the business.

 

The Swedish healthcare group expects to receive €740 million in gross cash proceeds, according to a Nasdaq filing seen by Business Standard. Medicover AB said it will use this capital to fund expansion in its core European markets of Poland, Germany and Romania.

 

 

Founded in 2017, Medicover India operates 24 hospitals with around 4,800 beds and employs about 11,400 people across south and west India. The Hyderabad-headquartered company operates across more than 80 clinical specialties, supported by over 1,900 doctors, and serves millions of patients annually.

 

In the 12-month period ended June 2026, Medicover India generated annual revenue of €220.5 million (around Rs 2,400 crore). The company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) stood at €26.1 million (around Rs 280 crore), according to Medicover's Nasdaq filing.

 

At the enterprise value of Rs 13,187.64 crore, KKR is paying around Rs 2.75 crore per bed for Medicover India's existing capacity of about 4,800 beds. The transaction values the hospital platform at nearly six times its revenue and around 46 times its Ebitda for the 12 months ended June 2026.

 

The valuation reflects not only Medicover's existing capacity, but also the opportunity to acquire an established hospital platform spanning Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. The acquisition immediately gives KKR a sizeable multi-speciality presence in southern and western India, complementing its exposure to Kerala through Baby Memorial Hospital and its oncology footprint through Healthcare Global Enterprises.

 

Medicover also gives KKR an operating platform across metropolitan as well as smaller urban markets, including Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam, Pune, Nashik and Navi Mumbai. This could enable the investor to add hospitals through acquisitions and expand capacity at existing facilities without having to build a network from the ground up.

 

Medicover added that it had been considering an initial public offering (IPO) in India as an alternative route since December last year, but ultimately concluded that a sale to KKR was the better option.

 

"We are pleased to invest in Medicover India and look forward to contributing to its next phase by investing behind its talent, technology, infrastructure and clinical capabilities," said Akshay Tanna, head of India private equity at KKR.

 

He added that through this investment, the private equity (PE) firm will seek to support Medicover India's doctors and employees in enhancing the quality of care they deliver and improving patient outcomes for the communities the platform serves across India.

 

The deal marks KKR's latest move to build scale in Indian healthcare, returning to hospital investments after a successful exit from Max Healthcare in 2022. Nearly two years later, KKR re-entered the hospital sector by acquiring a 70 per cent stake in Kerala-based Baby Memorial Hospital (BMH) for about $300 million (around Rs 2,856 crore).

 

The KKR-backed hospital chain then acquired Kozhikode-based Meitra Hospital and a 350-bed multi-speciality hospital in Kerala.

 

The firm also acquired a controlling stake in oncology-focused Healthcare Global Enterprises (HCG) from CVC Capital Partners in a transaction valuing HCG at a reported $400 million (around Rs 3,808 crore).

 

It also anchored $600 million in financing for Manipal Education and Medical Group through its private credit platform, after having previously been among the contenders for a controlling stake in Manipal Hospitals before Temasek emerged as the winning bidder in 2023.

 

KKR's strategy mirrors a broader shift among global investment firms towards building large healthcare delivery platforms in India rather than holding standalone hospital assets. Singapore's Temasek followed this approach through Manipal Health Enterprises, becoming its controlling shareholder after acquiring an additional 41 per cent stake in 2023.

 

Manipal subsequently expanded through acquisitions, including AMRI Hospitals, Medica Synergie and Sahyadri Hospitals. The company, which made its stock market debut on Wednesday, now operates more than 13,000 beds across 49 hospitals, making it India's largest multi-speciality hospital network by bed capacity. Temasek also retains an investment in listed hospital operator Global Health, which runs the Medanta chain.

 

The expansion of these platforms reflects growing consolidation in India's fragmented hospital industry.

 

Globally, KKR has invested more than $20 billion across the healthcare ecosystem since 2004.