Differences over valuation have held up Wockhardt Hospital’s plan to raise money from private equity (PE) investors. After talks with several PE players, discussions between Wockhardt Hospital and General Atlantic had reached advance level in August for the latter to pick up around 20% in the Indian hospital chain. But the two companies could not agree on the valuation of the healthcare firm. “There are differences, though talks with General Atlantic has not completely fallen through,” a person with the knowledge of developments told ET.
Earlier this year, Wockhardt Hospital had withdrawn its IPO to raise around Rs 700 crore by diluting 24% stake due to adverse market conditions. Wockhardt Hospital plans to invest around Rs 1,000 crore to increase its bed strength to 4,000 from the current 1,500 in the next three years.
An executive in a private equity firm said, Wockhardt Hospital has rejected the UK-based Apax Partners and Advent International’s investment proposals because both the PE firms valued the company at around $300 million. But this valuation could not be independently confirmed.
Apax Partners India MD and country head Neeraj Bharadwaj declined to comment, while an Advent International spokesperson said the company did not comment on ‘market speculation or rumour’.
An email sent to the Wockhardt Hospital spokesperson did not elicit a response. The spokesperson did not return ET’s calls as well. Apax Partners, last year, invested $104 million in Apollo Hospitals Advent International, a buyout firm has so far made no investment in the Indian healthcare space.
Last month, Wockhardt Hospital chairman Habil Khorakiwala said they expected to finalise a deal in the next 3-4 months.
Source: Economic Times