Indian hospital chain operator Manipal Hospitals said on Wednesday it has acquired an 84% stake in AMRI Hospitals in its bid to expand its presence in eastern India.
Kolkata-based AMRI Hospitals is owned by FMCG-to-realty conglomerate Emami Group and comprises of over 1,200 beds, over 800 doctors and 5,000-plus healthcare professionals.
"In an endeavour to focus on our core businesses, we have divested our majority stake in AMRI Hospitals," Aditya Agarwal and Manish Goenka, directors, Emami Group, said in a statement.
Emami will continue to hold a 15% stake in AMRI with the government of West Bengal holding a 1% stake in the firm.
Hospitals in India have been buying each other at near record rates, with M&As totalling $4 billion in 2022 and $2.2 billion in the first five months of this year, Reuters reported in June.
The private healthcare sector in India has seen a post-pandemic boom with global consultancy firm PwC projecting a 12-14% annual growth for India's private healthcare market, currently worth around $48 billion.
