Gleneagles Healthcare scouts for acquisitions of 250-300-bed hospitals

Gleneagles Healthcare India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysia’s healthcare giant IHH Healthcare Berhad, is set for its next phase of growth in India.

Operating with 1,500 beds across six hospitals in Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, the hospital chain is now scouting for suitable acquisitions of 250-300-bed hospitals in proximity to its existing locations. It has a turnover of around Rs 1,000 crore now.

Anurag Yadav, CEO of Gleneagles Healthcare India said, “We believe in a cluster-approach. We are open to potential acquisitions in and around the locations where we are present at the moment. We also plan to do brownfield expansion in our existing facilities.” Yadav said that they have not yet set any target bed-count for expansion and that their network hospitals are operating at 65-70 per cent occupancy levels.

Last year, IHH Healthcare inked an agreement to buy out the remaining stake held by Ravindranath Kancherla and his affiliates in Ravindranath GE Medical Associates Private Ltd (RGE) for about Rs 740 crore. IHH and RGE were operating Gleneagles Global Hospitals as a joint venture. The ‘global’ brand was with Ravindranath Kancherla and his associates, and therefore, it is now rebranded as Gleneagles Hospitals creating a new identity.

“Gleneagles Global Hospital chain became entirely IHH-owned where we now hold close to 99 per cent share. These six hospitals now would be known as Gleneagles Hospitals,” Yadav said. Gleneagles Healthcare now owns the brand Gleneagles Hospitals.

Visitor touchpoints, including hospital entrances and reception areas will now reflect the new brand identity.

Prem Kumar Nair, Group CEO of IHH Healthcare said, “Following strategic investment last August, we are thrilled to formally debut Gleneagles Hospitals in India. This new identity embodies our commitment to clinical excellence and innovation. Backed by the legacy of the Gleneagles brand, which has its origins in our 65-year-old Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore, the new name is apt and timely as we seek to organically expand within India.”

Nair said, “I am confident that Gleneagles Healthcare India will build on the brand’s commitment to provide world-class excellence, from superior clinical outcomes to the highest standards of quality and care.”

In India, IHH Healthcare owns a 31 per cent stake in Fortis Healthcare which it won after an intensive bidding war in 2018. However, it is awaiting a go-ahead on its open offer as litigations are pending. Business Standard