Apollo eyes Wockhardt Hospitals

India’s largest hospital chain, Apollo Hospitals, is interested in buying Wockhardt Hospitals provided it gets a majority stake, a top Apollo executive said. “We will not buy a minority stake in Wockhardt Hospitals. We will consider a majority stake and pay a correct price for it if offered,” said the executive, who requested not to be named. When contacted, an Apollo Hospitals spokeswoman declined to comment. At present, Delhi-based Fortis Healthcare is the front-runner to buy Wockhardt at a valuation of Rs 1,000 crore, as reported by ET on April 1. But latest media reports suggest that the talks are stuck over valuation differences. Meanwhile, a Wockhardt spokesman ruled out any plans to sell a majority stake in the hospital chain. The company is looking to sell a minority stake to an investor, he said, but denied any negotiations with Apollo or Fortis. “Such reports are malicious propaganda by rival firms,” he said. However, what kind of a choice the Khorakiwalas have in the matter depends on their ability to raise huge capital in some other fashion in order to meet their debt obligations this year. Their flagship company Wockhardt Pharma is saddled with Rs 3,400-crore debt. According to Crisil data, Wockhardt has to repay Rs 1,324 crore this calendar year. Wockhardt Hospitals’ negotiations with private equity (PE) players such as General Atlantic, Advent International, Blackstone and Carlyle over the past couple of months are also reported to have collapsed. Most of these PE firms had then valued the company at about $250-300 million (Rs 1,250-1,500 crore). About a year ago, Apollo held initial talks to buy Wockhardt Hospitals, the promoters had demanded a valuation of Rs 3,000 crore, the executive said. But negotiations did not move forward due to sharp differences over valuation and the Khorakiwalas’ reluctance to give up a controlling stake in the hospital business. PE major Apax Partners, a strategic investor in Apollo Hospitals, also had initial discussions to invest in Wockhardt Hospitals last year, but couldn’t strike a deal. If Apollo Hospitals joins the fray, it could make for an interesting contest. Apollo Hospitals, which raised $100 million from Apax Partners in 2007, is yet to utilise a part of the fund. Apollo Hospitals, which runs a chain of 43 hospitals, has been looking for an acquisition in overseas markets. It was close to buying a hospital chain in the UK in 2007, and is currently scouting for an acquisition in Malaysia. In India, it has not made any big acquisition. However, analysts believe Fortis heads the race for Wockhardt Hospitals. This is because of the financial muscle of Fortis promoters who have announced aggressive expansion plans in healthcare sector. Besides Wockhardt Hospitals is seen as a strategic fit for Fortis, given the complementary regional distribution of their hospitals.

Aditya Birla completes Apollo Sindhoori acquisition

Diversified company Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd Monday said it has completed the acquisition of 76 percent stake in the retail broking firm of the Apollo Hospitals Group. The group bought 56 percent in Apollo Sindhoori Capital Investment from the promoters and another 20 percent through an open offer.
The acquired company is a leading player in the financial services sector with over 10 years of experience in the share broking business. It has a network of over 221 own and 687 franchisee branches, and a customer base in excess of 175,000.
'The acquisition not only gives us an opportunity to expand our spectrum of offerings but also presents us a strong customer base, distributor franchise and most importantly an unparalleled talent pool,' said Ajay Srinivasan, chief executive (financial services), Aditya Birla Group.
The group has a presence across various financial services verticals that include life insurance, fund management, among others.
In 2008-09, the financial services business crossed consolidated revenues of $621 million for the first nine months, a growth of over 51 percent from corresponding period last year.

UK firm buys Apollo stake for $100 mn

British private equity firm, Apax Partners, is investing USD 100 million for an 11 per cent stake in India's Apollo Hospitals Enterprises to take advantage of the fast-growing healthcare industry.

The Apollo Group founded by Prathap Reddy in 1983 operates more than 40 sites and is stated to be Asia's largest healthcare group.

According to a report in a newspaper, Apax already co-owns General Healthcare Group, the biggest private operator in the UK, alongside the South African firm Netcare and recently sold its stake in Healthcare at Home, a leading domestic care provider, to Hutton Collins.

(Source: Economic Times)

Apollo eyes UK's Bupa chain buyout

The Apollo hospitals group is on an acquisition mode. The group wants to acquire UK based Bupa chain of hospitals, which is valued at an estimated $2.4 billion.

Apollo's recent plans to acquire other hospitals in the US and UK fell through primarily on account of valuation issues. In a bid to expand its IT and healthcare arm, the group plans to acquire a healthcare BPO unit in the US for about $100 million.

(Source: ET)

Apollo-DKV JV to launch health insurance by Aug

The newly formed Apollo DKV Insurance Corporation, a joint venture between Apollo Group of Hospitals and DKV, a European insurance company, will launch its first bouquet of five health insurance products by the end of August 2007, Pratap C Reddy, chairman, Apollo Group, said.

Apollo will hold 74% equity in the company while DKV, a subsidiary of Munich Re, a re-insurance company, will hold the remaining 26%, initially. As and when the existing norms are relaxed, Apollo would increase the DKV's equity participation in the company to 49% by reducing its stake to 51%.