 "Manipal Hospitals rebrands AMRI units eight months after acquisition")
Nearly eight months after acquisition, the AMRI units across eastern India have been rebranded as Manipal Hospitals.
Manipal Hospitals, which acquired an 84 per cent stake in AMRI Hospitals in September 2023 for around Rs 2,300 crore, announced brand integration on Tuesday.
H Sudarshan Ballal, chairman of Manipal Hospitals, said at a media briefing, "It is an integration of two well-known brands. We look forward to significant growth in this part of the country." AMRI had three units in Kolkata and one in Bhubaneswar.
Manipal entered Kolkata when it acquired Columbia Asia Hospitals a few years back and is now the largest healthcare delivery provider in eastern India.
Dilip Jose, managing director and chief executive officer of Manipal Hospitals, said that Columbia Asia was the first entry into the city (Kolkata). "We believe that there is an opportunity for the Manipal brand to be stronger in the city."
There are now four Manipal Hospitals in Kolkata and one in Bhubaneswar; in Gangtok, Manipal has a 500-bed teaching hospital.
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"By far, Manipal Hospitals is the largest healthcare delivery provider in the eastern region," Jose said.
Manipal Hospitals recently announced a binding agreement to acquire an 87 per cent stake in Kolkata-based hospital chain Medica Synergie. "When that transaction gets completed in the next month or so, we get one more hospital in the city; two more in Siliguri and one in Ranchi. We become even stronger in the East," he added.
In response to questions on why Manipal is expanding in the East, Jose said, a large number of patients from the eastern region travel to hospitals in Bengaluru and Delhi for treatment. "We believe it is not necessary for people to travel outside of the eastern region for treatment. We would want Manipal Hospitals to be available closer to home," he said.
The acquisition of Medica would take Manipal’s hospital bed count to over 10,500. Four greenfield projects – three in Bengaluru and one in Raipur – were also under construction, which would add 1,100 beds.