Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd (AHEL) has said that it is looking for partners to develop projects in Mumbai and its suburbs. This comes after the fallout of its joint venture with One Equity Partners, a subsidiary of the JP Morgan group recently.
The company is planning to set up three super-specialty hospitals, a 350-bed hospital in Navi Mumbai, a 300-bed hospital in Byculla, Mumbai, and a 250-bed joint venture project in Thane, which are expected to be completed by 2013-14, according to a recent company report. “We are in talks with a few investors for the projects (in Mumbai). They will also be a co-investor,” said Preetha Reddy, managing director, AHEL. However, she refused to reveal more on the company’s co-investment options.
Western Hospital Corporation, a joint venture (JV) with One Equity Partners, the private equity arm of the JP Morgan Chase and Company. The joint venture had been formed to set up multi-specialty hospitals in and around Mumbai.
Reports quoted post-recession, One Equity Partners have not been very keen on investing in the projects and hence Apollo has decided to liquidate the JV.
The 60:40 JV between One Equity Partners and Apollo Hospitals had initially proposed to come up wi th two hospitals — a 600-bed hospital at Vashi in Navi Mumbai and another 250-bed hospital in Thane. The proposal was to invest Rs 800 crore in the projects.
Of the three projects, the company had plans to invest 100 per cent in two projects, the Rs 350 crore Navi Mumbai project and the Rs 140 crore Byculla project, while the majority of investment for the Rs 220 crore Thane project would be from Apollo’s joint venture partner Birla Wellness and Healthcare. AHEL is expected to invest around Rs 55 crore in the joint venture project.
It is to be noted that in 2007, Apollo Hospitals has formed partnership with JP Morgan Chase and Company’s private equity firm One Equity Partners to identify locations and set up hospitals in Mumbai. The partnership was expected to start with a 300-bed hospital in the city.