Apollo Hospitals, Aster DM, Narayan Health initial bidders for Seven Hills hospitals

MUMBAI: India’s largest hospital chain Apollo, Dubai-based Aster DM and Bengaluru-based Narayan Health in partnership with the Piramal group have emerged as the early bidders for the acquisition of the assets of Seven Hills hospitals. Some of these players have put in their expression of interest with the resolution professional for possession of the two hospitals that are in Mumbai and Vishakhapatnam, according to people directly involved in the bidding process.

Seven Hills, with an estimated debt of Rs 1,300 crore, went under the hammer this year as lenders led by Axis Bank and a State Bank of India (SBI) consortium initiated the insolvency procedure against the hospital chain started by Andhra Pradesh-based medical professional Jitendra Maganti. In Mumbai, Seven Hills was built under a public-private partnership of nearly Rs 1,000-crore investment that failed to take off, with the local municipal corporation suing the hospital for non-compliance of the memorandum of understanding.

“We are currently under silent period and would not like to comment,” Apollo Hospitals spokesperson told ET. Officials from Aster and Narayan Health did not respond to the queries sent by ET. In November, ET had reported that lenders were planning to file insolvency plea against Seven Hills, which reported a net loss of Rs 147 crore in 2015-16, according to its filings. With nearly 1,000 beds under operations in Mumbai and Vishakhapatnam, Seven Hills is the second large hospital chain that is trapped under debt and desperate for a buyer. The other one being Fortis Hospital, which is embroiled in a bidding war since last three months.

However, in November the lenders of Seven Hills had told ET that they felt that the hospital can turn around even if it can start operationalising 700 beds, which would make an Ebitda of Rs 180 crore in twothree years time. At that time the lenders were looking at a valuation of Rs 2,500-3,000 crore. An email sent to Seven Hills resolution professional remained unanswered.

Apollo Hospitals