By IANS,
New Delhi : Super-speciality hospital group Fortis has acquired 10 hospitals from Wockhardt for Rs.909 crore, the company said Monday.
With this acquisition, the Delhi-based Fortis will add 1,902 beds, including 534 beds in the two ongoing greenfield projects of Wockhardt in Bangalore and Kolkata, taking its total capacity to 5,202 beds in 38 hospitals.
Wockhardt will retain some of its speciality hospitals, and will use the proceeds from the sale of the 10 hospitals to part repay its debt of Rs.2,500 crore.
The business transaction is set to close by December on completion of agreed conditions.
Fortis said there would be no change in the management of the acquired hospitals as the company wanted to work with the existing teams.
“We will be working with the existing team of Wockhardt with Vishal Bali as the chief executive officer,” said Shivinder M. Singh, chief executive and managing director of Fortis Hospitals.
The acquisition will enable Fortis to expand its footprint in the southern cities, and attain planned set-up of 40 hospitals and add 6,000 beds by 2012, Singh said.
Fortis, which started its first hospital in 2001, has a network of 28 hospitals with a capacity of 3,300 beds.
Currently, most of the group’s hospitals are located in north Indian cities.