Malaysia-based IHH Healthcare is planning to sell its stakes in two major assets in India. The healthcare group will sell its 62 percent stake in Hyderabad-based Continental Hospitals which has a capacity of 750 beds and another 74 percent stake in Global Hospitals which has a capacity of over 2,000 beds.
According to local media reports, IHH Healthcare will sell its stakes in its assets in India at a much lesser price compared to the price it invested while acquiring those stakes.
Reportedly, bad management and friction between different promoters are some of the main reasons for IHH Healthcare to offload its assets in India.
IHH Healthcare acquired a 51 percent stake in India’s Continental Hospitals in 2015 for about $45.4 million and subsequently increased it to 62 percent. But since the acquisition, it is believed that the healthcare group has been in a dispute with Continental’s founder Gurunath Reddy with regard to management and operations.
In 2017, Gurunath Reddy approached the National Commission Law Tribunal to prevent a rights issue by IHH Healthcare; however, his actions were futile.
IHH Healthcare also acquired a 74 percent stake in India’s Global Hospitals for about $200 million in 2015. The healthcare group rebranded Global Hospitals as Gleneagles Global Hospitals in 2017.
Recently, Khazanah Nasional sold its stake in IHH Healthcare at a 20 percent premium to Mitsui. The stake sale is a part of Khazanah’s major restructuring programme. Currently, Khazanah owns a 26.05 percent stake in IHH Healthcare, whereas, Mitsui replaced Khazanah as IHH’s largest shareholder after the completion of the deal which increased its stake in the healthcare group to 32.9 percent.