Reliance-Backed NK Holdings & Jupiter Hospital Vie for SevenHills Healthcare

The acquisition process has gained momentum after years of delays, with both suitors placing bids of around ₹450 crore for the asset.

Reliance-backed NK Holdings and Jupiter Hospital have stepped forward as the principal bidders for SevenHills Healthcare, a prominent operator of a 1,500-bed hospital in Mumbai.

SevenHills has been under insolvency proceedings since March 2018, following disputes with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) over unpaid rent and compensation linked to the land on which the hospital stands.

The hospital complex, spread across civic-owned land, was once positioned as a flagship public-private healthcare project but soon became embroiled in litigation that crippled its operations and finances.

The acquisition process has gained momentum after years of delays, with both suitors placing bids of around ₹450 crore for the asset, though proposing sharply different payment structures.

According to reports, Jupiter Hospital has proposed an upfront payment of the entire bid amount within 30 days of approval by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

In contrast, NK Holdings has suggested paying the same consideration over a five-year period.

SevenHills earlier operated two hospitals, one in Mumbai and another in Visakhapatnam. In a bid to accelerate the stalled insolvency process, the NCLT allowed creditors to sell the two assets separately.

This decision followed prolonged disagreements between lenders and the civic body, as well as operational disruptions during the pandemic, when the Mumbai hospital was taken over as a COVID-19 facility under the Disaster Management Act.

In July 2024, the NCLT approved a ₹171-crore resolution plan submitted by MGM Healthcare to acquire the Visakhapatnam hospital. MCGM has filed a claim of ₹140.8 crore towards unpaid rent, a claim that had not been admitted by the resolution professional as of March 2023.

In July 2019, the NCLT approved a ₹1,000-crore resolution plan by Dr Devi Shetty’s New Medical Centre.

Although the appellate tribunal initially upheld the decision, the Supreme Court overturned it in November 2019 after MCGM argued it was not bound by the plan, having terminated the land lease before insolvency proceedings began.

As of March 31, 2023, admitted claims across both hospitals stood at ₹1,361 crore, with financial creditors accounting for ₹1,273 crore.

NK Holdings and Jupiter Hospital are currently evaluating both resolution plans, weighing immediate recovery against longer-term payouts.

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