Mumbai: Advent International and Blackstone-backed Aster DM Quality Care are negotiating to acquire a controlling stake in Yatharth Hospitals and Trauma Care Services, a listed, north India-centric, specialty hospital chain, said people with knowledge of the matter. India’s second-largest hospital chain is looking to consolidate amid a buyout spree by large private equity groups, they said. Yatharth denied it’s in any sale discussions.
The chain’s stock has risen 15.3% in the past month in anticipation of a trade, ending Thursday at Rs 973.05 after touching a fresh 52-week high of Rs 982.65, for a market cap of Rs 9,462 crore. Promoters Ajay Kumar Tyagi and family, and Kapil Kumar, own 55.8% of the company; public shareholders have the rest.
A deal will trigger an open offer for an additional 26% of the company. Depending on the success of the offer, the acquirer may end up owning more than three fourths of Yatharth. Due diligence by the two is nearing the end.
Synergy in Acquisition
The existing promoters may retain a sliver of ownership, but final negotiations are still underway. There’s no guarantee that the talks will lead to a transaction.
“The facts mentioned in your email are incorrect. We are not engaged in such discussions,” a Yatharth spokesperson told ET. Blackstone denied any interest in the asset, saying it’s neither evaluating a deal nor is it part of any sale process. DM Aster didn’t respond to queries. Advent was unreachable.
Headquartered in Noida and Greater Noida, Yatharth has about nine hospitals with total bed capacity of over 2,800. It is targeting a total capacity of over 5,000 beds in the next three years through new facilities and expansion. Its footprint also covers Jhansi-Orchha in Madhya Pradesh and Faridabad in Haryana.
Advent has been a big backer of Indian pharmaceutical companies but has, so far, not made an investment in the hospitals sector other than a 2012 investment in Care Hospitals. It’s been scouting for assets, evaluating targets in Delhi-NCR. In India it’s pharma portfolio includes Apollo 24×7 wellness retail chain, Cohance and Bharat Serums and Vaccine.
Aster DM Quality Care was formed by a mega merger of Moopen family-founded Aster DM Healthcare and Quality Care India, unifying four healthcare brands — Aster DM, CARE Hospitals, Evercare and KIMSHEALTH. It also saw two of the biggest PE groups, TPG and Blackstone, join forces to create the country’s second-largest healthcare chain. The combination operates about 40 hospitals in 27 cities supported by nearly 50,000 healthcare professionals.
Earlier this month, TPG sold a little over 7% of the 10% it held in Aster DM Quality Care through multiple block deals at prices ranging between Rs 766.10 and Rs 780 per share. As per the July 2026 shareholding pattern, promoters — including the Moopen family and Blackstone — own a 53.72% stake in Aster DM Quality Care. Blackstone is the single largest shareholder. They also own a 35% stake in the separated Aster GCC business.
Alisha Moopen, Executive Director, Aster DM Quality Care, director of Aster DM, recently told ET that the aim was to scale up to 15,000 beds by FY29, from 10,800 beds now.
The chain’s stock market performance this year has outperformed the benchmark Nifty. According to NSE data, the stock has gained 22.36% so far in 2026, compared with an 8% decline in the Nifty. Its market cap on Thursday was at Rs 65,828.70 crore.
A successful transaction will lead to the chain establishing a strong footing in north and central India where its lacks presence, said people with knowledge of the matter. Aster prefers a cash deal to a stock merger, they said.
“We were largely seen as a regional player… this size and scale gives us an opportunity to become a pan-India player,” Moopen told ET in the interview. “The pan-India goal we had over seven to 10 years can now be shrunk to a much shorter timeframe. In terms of listed companies, we would be number two… and the ambition, of course, is to be number one in three to four years.”
Pan India Aspirantions
While continuing to strengthen its presence in Kerala and Karnataka, the company has been expanding in locations such as Indore, Raipur, Aurangabad, Bhubaneshwar and elsewhere. Aster, which specialises in areas such as cardiology, oncology, transplants, paediatrics and neurosciences, is focusing on organic and inorganic strategies to drive further growth.
Yatharth, the growth roadmap of which includes robotics, oncology and transplant programmes, therefore, offers operational synergy.
For the first quarter ended June, Yatharth reported a 51% year-on-year increase in consolidated revenue to Rs 392.70 crore. Average revenue per occupied bed was at Rs 34,758, up 7% from a year ago. Whole-time director Yatharth Tyagi recently told analysts on an earnings call that the hospital chain grew at 37% in FY26 and is set to “easily surpass that growth” this year. It’s on track to close at upwards of 24% ebitda margin for FY27, he had said, adding that growth of average revenue per occupied bed is pegged at 9-10%.
Money Pouring In
The frenzied investor interest in Indian hospitals is driven by rising demand for quality medical care, increasing health insurance penetration, opportunities to build scalable regional healthcare networks and by strong revenue expansion across hospitals and diagnostics, sustained capacity additions and continued investor interest, according to a recent EY-Parthenon Healthcare Sector report. Growth was driven by rising patient volumes, improving realisations and a gradual shift towards higher-acuity treatments.
The hospital segment remained the primary growth engine. Revenue and Ebitda growth across major hospital operators was above 15% year-on-year. Revenue and Ebitda growth across major hospital operators was above 15% year-on-year.
Hospitals’ operational performance was supported by stable occupancy levels, typically ranging between 60% and 75%, alongside improvements in average revenue per occupied bed. High-acuity specialities such as cardiology and oncology continued to grow strongly, with growth rates exceeding 15% in certain cases, thereby contributing a larger share to total revenue, the report said.
