Promoters increase stake in Aster DM Healthcare by 4% for Rs 460 cr

Its turnover stood at Rs 10,253 crore in FY22. The family held 37.88 per cent before this transaction in the hospital chain, which nets most of its revenue from the Gulf markets.

Aster went public in February 2018 with a Rs 980-crore IPO.

The company did not say which PE fund has exited it. Private equity fund Olympus Capital owned 23 per cent, while another first PE investor True North has around 3.4% now after selling 7 per cent in June 2022.

The hospital chain operates 15 hospitals offering 4,095 beds, which will go up to 4,670 across 18 hospitals by the next financial year and is the largest chain in the GCC countries with 15 hospitals. They also operate 113 clinics and 257 pharmacies in these Gulf Cooperation Council markets.

Aster Medcity in Kochi is the flagship hospital of the group, which was opened in 2014 with a 670-bed quaternary care healthcare centre on a 40-acre campus. Since then, it has added 500 beds in the second phase of expansion.

“The increase of our stake in the company is a reiteration of our confidence in business across geographies and our commitment to the patients and employees who have placed their trust in us. “As a family, we are fully committed to Aster and promise our continued involvement in GCC and India businesses both in terms of ownership and management,” its chairman and managing director Moopen said.

He further said they are adding four more hospitals in the country — a 350-beds facility in Thiruvananthapuram; a 200-bedded in Kasargod; a 150-bedded in Tirupati and a 100-bedded Aster in Mandya, among others.

These additions will take the overall number of beds from 4,095 across 15 hospitals to 4,670 across 18 hospitals next financial year.

They have already rolled out 239 Aster pharmacies and 177 Aster labs and patient experience centres in the country.

In the GCC, they will be launching a 181-bedded Aster Royal hospital in Oman; a 101-bedded Aster hospital in Sharjah and acquiring a 126-bedded hospital in Al Qusais, which would be operational soon.

These additions will make Aster one of the largest healthcare providers in the GCC, with 15 hospitals, 113 clinics and 257 pharmacies, he said.

The company is also rolling out 250 new Aster pharmacies in Saudi Arabia.

Overall, Aster is present in seven countries with 828 establishments — 30 hospitals, 125 clinics, 496 pharmacies, 20 labs and 157 patient experience centres.