Bengaluru: Hospital chain Manipal Health Enterprises plans to raise 80 billion rupees ($852.24 million) through fresh issue of shares, it said in its filing for an initial public offering on Tuesday, betting on rising demand for specialized medical care.
The Temasek-backed hospital chain operator’s existing investors plan to sell 43.2 million shares, according to its draft prospectus.
Manipal Health is betting on rapidly growing demand for specialised healthcare options in the country, which analysts and industry insiders say will form the bedrock of growth in the Indian healthcare market. The sector is also booming with increasing private and foreign investments from the likes of Blackstone, Novo Nordisk and KKR.
Manipal Health did not specify details about the size of the IPO.
The Bengaluru-based firm has emerged as one of India’s most aggressive healthcare consolidators over the past several years, with its latest addition being local peer Sahyadri Hospitals that it bought for $700 million.
However, its IPO plans come at a time when India’s equity markets have fallen sharply, with global risk-off sentiment, tightening liquidity and persistent foreign investor outflows pressuring benchmarks.
Manipal Health plans to use IPO proceeds for repayment of outstanding borrowings and its acquisition of Sahyadri Hospitals, according to the filing.
(Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
