Financial closure for Medicity

US-based equity firm Avenue Capital buys stake in the Rs 1000 cr project.

Cardiologist turned entrepreneur, Naresh Trehan, has achieved financial closure for his over Rs 1,000 crore Medicity project in Gurgaon with US-based private equity firm, Avenue Capital, having picked up a large chunk of the equity.

With this, Trehan's project, being executed under a company called Global Health Ltd, is likely to be the first off the blocks among the three similar projects coming up in Gurgaon.

The other two projects are by Fortis Healthcare and Apollo Tyres.

While Trehan declined to discuss it, sources say Avenue Capital has picked up a much larger stake than Punj Lloyd, which has bought 16 per cent equity for Rs 138 crore.

However, the valuation for the Avenue deal is said to be the same as what applied to the one with Punj Lloyd, which is also constructing the project.

GE Medical Systems, the technology partner, had earlier picked up a small percentage of equity.

To cater to the burgeoning medical tourism, as much as 50 per cent of the area is said to be designated for commercial establishments such as service apartments and hotels.

Originally titled 'Medicity', the project "� spread over 45 acres "� is being called 'Institute of Integrated Medical Science & Holistic Therapies' and would begin operations by August 2007.

GE, in its first collaborative venture ever worldwide, would be providing high-end diagnostic tools, clinical research and development and utility services such as power generation and water treatment.

The 1,500-bed institute would be clinically modelled after global centres of excellence such as the John Hopkins and Mayo Clinic of the US.

Besides 18-20 super specialities, a nursing school and a medical institute, the centre would also conduct research on traditional schools of medicine such as ayurveda, unani and reiki.