This trend has reshaped the $80 billion-plus healthcare market, once dominated by government agencies and family-owned setups.
The report noted that sporadic private equity transactions in hospitals date back to Apax Partners' investment in Apollo Hospitals in 2007, while the Covid-19 pandemic marked a turning point. The sector has since attracted sustained interest from funding such as Temasek in Singapore and US-based TPG and KKR, which has led to major acquisitions, including Manipal and Max Healthcare.
Abhay Soi, chairman and managing director of Max Healthcare, told TOI that private equity investments in healthcare usually go through third-year periods, and ownership often returns to businesses or individuals.
“While private equity brings funds to help promote integration and provide last-mile funding, their investment perspective is usually too short to fully support the long-term asset creation cycle that healthcare infrastructure demands,” added Soi.
Recent transactions snapshots show the size of private equity controls. Blackstone owns 80% at Kims Kerala and 73% at care hospitals, while Temasek owns 59% at Manipal Hospitals, while Arpwood Partners and OTPP own the Sterling and Sahyadri hospitals, respectively. Other global players such as CVC Capital, General Atlantic, TPG Growth, BPEA EQT and Advent International have also built a major stake across India's major chains so that TOI can access it, according to Grant Thornton and Industry Data.
The changes in the Indian industry reflect the US, where most hospitals own individually or institutionally. In contrast, the UK operates hospitals publicly through the National Health Services.
Sujay Shetty, Global Health Industries Advisory Leader at PWC India, said, “Ownership of hospital private equity has been steadily increasing over the past five to six years.” He added that this trend will benefit inadequate markets of services struggling to access healthcare, while also enabling capital injections, global best practices and stronger specialization.
Analysts are actively working on growth outlook, pointing to increased life expectancy, income, lifestyle-driven non-communicable diseases and health awareness. India is still facing a shortage of hospitals and critical care beds, increasing the need for new investments.
“Private equity participation brings growth capital, governance and operational expertise, allowing hospitals to improve service quality and expand their footprint. Healthcare is active in India, the highest in other sectors.
Sunil Thakur, a partner at Quadria Capital, highlighted the increased profitability of the hospital chain. He said, “The ROI of the corporate hospital chain has improved over the past decade or so, mainly due to increased cost-efficiency in usage, alpob and other things.”
(Use input from TOI)
