Metropolis' Ameera Shah resists listing

Rivals Dr Lal's and Thyrocare command valuations over 50 times earnings

Ameera Shah is often visited by merchant bankers who propose to take her pathology chain, Metropolis Healthcare, public. Their interest is mounting as the markets are pricing pathology chains at over 50 times their earnings.

The Delhi-based Dr Lal’s Pathlabs has a market capitalisation of Rs 8,100 crore, 51 times its earnings. The company has 172 laboratories and 6,526 collection centres. The Navi Mumbai-based Thyrocare Technologies is valued at Rs 3,744 crore, 56 time its earnings. It has seven laboratories and 1,041 authorised centres. This is against the average 22 times price to earning ratio of the 30 Sensex companies.

But the