Singapore-based Sheares Healthcare Group restructures India operations

Four years after setting up shop in India, Singapore investment behemoth Temasek-owned Sheares Healthcare, which focuses on healthcare bets, has restructured its domestic operations in India as part of an internal review, industry sources said.

Currently, Sheares Healthcare India owns a majority stake in Kolkata-based hospital chain Medica Synergies and an 18 percent stake in Manipal Hospitals. Earlier, it had also picked up a small minority stake in Global Health Ltd, the listed operator of Medanta Hospitals.

“The reorganization has come into effect and will lead to a simpler structure. The existing Sheares Healthcare India team has been absorbed either by Temasek or its portfolio companies,” said one of the persons above.

The firm’s CEO R Venkatesh will return to Temasek as an advisor, this person added.

Additionally, in February, Yogesh Kumar, the CFO of Sheares Healthcare India was appointed as the CFO of Global Health Ltd.

“As a result of this move, Manipal Hospitals will become the flagship entity for healthcare investments in the country for Temasek,” a source said.

In April 2023, in the largest private equity deal in the Indian healthcare segment, Temasek signed definitive agreements to acquire an additional 41 percent stake in Ranjan Pai-led Manipal Health Enterprises for around $2 billion, taking its total stake (Temasek + Sheares) in the firm to 59 percent. The transaction valued Manipal Hospitals between Rs 40,000 crore to Rs 42,000 crore, according to sources.

“Sheares is present in other parts of Asia too, but this is an India- specific move,” said another source.

All the three persons above spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.

When contacted, Sheares confirmed the move in an email response to Moneycontrol.

The firm said, “Sheares Healthcare Group has streamlined its operations in India as part of an organisational review. We will directly manage our India portfolio from Singapore and work closely with our in-market portfolio companies as they continue to provide innovative and patient-focused care.”

The Sheares saga in India
The Sheares Healthcare Group is wholly-owned by Temasek, which had a net portfolio value of around $284 billion at the end of the last financial year. It invests in, designs, builds and operates a network of healthcare facilities, including hospitals, clinics, specialist medical centres and senior living facilities. It is also present in Singapore and China.

In December 2021, Temasek’s healthcare platform Sheares acquired a majority position in Medica Synergie by purchasing the stake held by private equity firm Quadria Capital.

Later, the firm decided to bulk up its presence in the Kolkata-based hospital chain. On April 17, Moneycontrol reported that Sheares Healthcare was looking to raise its stake to 90 percent in Medica by providing an exit to the Chairman & key Founder Dr Alok Roy and related entities. The transaction materialised later.

On March 11, Moneycontrol reported that IPO-bound Manipal Hospitals, backed by Temasek and Dr Ranjan Pai, had entered final stage negotiations to acquire a substantial majority stake Medica Synergie, which would give an exit to Sheares.

Manipal Hospitals is currently the second largest hospital chain in the country and if the above transaction fructifies, there is a possibility that the combined entity may edge ahead of current market leader Apollo Hospitals in terms of total bed capacity and become India’s largest hospital chain, the report added.

Manipal Hospitals to spearhead India healthcare bets for Temasek
In July 2023, Temasek senior executives Vishesh Shrivastav, MD, Investment (India) and Mohit Bhandari, MD, Investment (India) shared that the firm is planning to invest up to $10 billion in India over the next three years.

Manipal Hospitals, which is set to explore a mega public listing in the next two-three years, has bolstered its pan-India footprint via the inorganic route.

In September, it purchased a majority stake in Emami Group-led AMRI Hospitals for Rs 2,300 crore to expand its presence in East India.

Earlier in 2020 and 2021, the chain acquired Colombia Asia Hospitals for around Rs 2,200 crore and Bengaluru-based Vikram Hospitals for around Rs 350 crore, respectively.

The firm was also in the race for private equity firm True North-backed KIMS Kerala, a sale process which eventually saw Blackstone emerge as the winning suitor. Moneycontrol