Manipal Hospitals announced late Wednesday that it had acquired Sahyadri Hospitals from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), a global investor with net assets of $194 billion. The size of the deal is reportedly over ₹6,000 crore. “This ₹6,000 crore, plus an upside value of over ₹2,000 crore, will now increase Manipal’s valuation by over ₹8,000 crore,” said an industry source.
The company has acquired four major hospitals — Medica, Columbia Asia, AMRI, and Vikram Hospitals — since 2020.
A source added that the company is expected to go for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2026.
Though a $1 billion IPO is expected, none of the major investors — Temasek, Mubadala Investment Company, TPG, or the founder family of Ranjan Pai — are likely to fully exit during the listing. “There will be some tuning as per law. The IPO is mainly to pay off debts and provide a cushion for future expansions,” one source added.
Last year, Manipal acquired Kolkata-based Medica Synergie (87 per cent) for ₹1,400 crore, while in 2023 it bought Emami Group's AMRI Hospitals (84 per cent) for around ₹2,300 crore. Other major acquisitions include the Columbia Asia Hospitals deal (100 per cent) in 2021 for ₹2,100 crore and 100 per cent of Vikram Hospital (Bengaluru) for ₹350 crore.
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These acquisitions have helped the company expand its presence in the western, northern, and eastern parts. As a result, the revenue contribution from the Bengaluru cluster reduced to 52 per cent for FY24 (from 63 per cent in FY23), followed by the north and west cluster at 17 per cent (19 per cent) and the east cluster at 18 per cent (2 per cent), according to an India Ratings report earlier this year.
“With Sahyadri, we will be among the largest in the West as well. In the next three years, another 2,000 beds are expected to be added through greenfield expansions in Raipur, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Rajarhat in Kolkata,” a company source said.
The group added 2,199 beds (net) over FY23–FY24 and plans to add another 1,900 beds by FY28, with a total capital expenditure of ₹5,738 crore (including maintenance and diagnostic segment capex), the report added.
On the other hand, experts said the OTPP stake sale for around ₹6,400 crore, with a 2.6-fold return from its ₹2,500 crore 2022 investment in Sahyadri, indicates the opportunities for global funds to further invest in India's health sector. The returns also got a boost from ₹900 crore post-acquisition investments in Sahyadri's infrastructure by OTPP to upgrade its cardiac care and digital systems, say reports.
Top 5 hospital chains
(After the acquisition of Sahyadri Hospitals, the total bed capacity of Manipal Hospitals will rise to about 12,000)
* Apollo Hospitals: 10,187 capacity beds and 9,458 operational beds
* Fortis Healthcare: 4,750 operational beds
* Narayana Hrudayalaya: 5,282 operational beds
* Aster DM Healthcare: 5,159 capacity beds
* Max Healthcare: 5,100 capacity beds
 "manipal hospital")