Manipal, Fortis to merge hospital biz; SRL Diagnostics to be part of deal

The value of the combined hospital business is estimated at around Rs 150 billion after the transaction

Manipal Hospitals, backed by private equity firm TPG, and Fortis Healthcare have announced a merger of their hospital businesses, creating the largest provider of healthcare services in India by revenue.

In a late evening notification to the stock exchange, Fortis Healthcare said its board had approved the merger of its hospital business with Manipal Hospitals. The resultant entity, Manipal Hospitals, will be a publicly traded company, listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the BSE.

Together the group will have 45 hospitals in India and overseas, and 11,000 installed beds. The existing promoters of Manipal Hospitals and TPG will