Manipal Hospitals Fast-Tracks IPO Plans After Sahyadri Acquisition

Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Capital, Jefferies, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Motilal Oswal are among the investment banks previously engaged for the listing, according to sources.

After completing the acquisition of Sahyadri Hospitals in July, Manipal Hospitals has accelerated its plans for a public listing and has sought a revised valuation from its syndicate of advisors, industry sources told Moneycontrol.

"There was a pause on the IPO while Manipal Hospitals was participating in the competitive auction for Sahyadri Hospitals. Now, post the CCI approval, the firm wants to fast-track the process and kick off the deal soon. An updated valuation check in current market conditions has been sought from the investment bankers," one of the persons said.

Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Capital, Jefferies, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Motilal Oswal are among the investment banks previously engaged for the listing, according to sources.

Additional banks may be added to the syndicate at a later time.

A fourth person noted, "These are early days and a valuation target hasn't been finalised yet, but an IPO valuation of plus Rs 1 lakh crore ($11.3 billion) may be on the cards for the pan-India hospital chain, which has more than 12,000 beds. If that is the case, then the firm can avail the relaxed IPO norms for large issuers recently introduced by Sebi, but it's not necessary that the route will be used. This is a marquee IPO targeted for mid-2026 and is expected to have great investor interest."

When contacted, Temasek said, "We do not comment on behalf of our investee companies, nor do we comment on market speculation. You may wish to reach out to Manipal Hospitals directly instead." Emails sent to Manipal Hospitals, Dr Ranjan Pai, and the investment banks did not receive a response at the time of publishing.

Under Sebi’s amended rules, companies with a post-issue market cap between INR 1 lakh crore and INR 5 lakh crore must make a minimum public offer of INR 6,250 crore and dilute at least 2.75 percent, compared to the earlier requirement of INR 5,000 crore and 5 percent dilution.

Manipal Hospitals, backed by Temasek and Dr Ranjan Pai, has pursued a series of acquisitions since 2021, including Vikram Hospitals, Columbia Asia’s India business, and AMRI Hospitals. The Sahyadri acquisition, valued at about INR 6,150 crore, received CCI approval earlier this month.

In April 2023, Temasek became the controlling shareholder with a transaction worth around INR 16,000 crore, valuing Manipal at INR 40,000–42,000 crore. Following that deal, Dr Ranjan Pai had said, "I think consolidation will continue in the healthcare space. A lot more private equity funds will continue to invest large checks in the space."

Temasek’s India head, Ravi Lambah, had also said in July, "Yes, that’s probably right. Because the size is there and the performance is good," when asked if the Manipal IPO could be one of Asia’s biggest healthcare offerings.

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