Apollo Hospitals Group draws up acquisition list in UK

Our Corporate Bureau
20 February 2007

London: According to media reports in the UK, Indian hospitals and healthcare chain, Apollo Hospitals Group, has drawn up a list of acquisition targets in the UK.

Apollo, which reported a Rs 27 crore profit in the final quarter of 2006, was founded by Dr Prathap C Reddy, in Chennai in 1983 after he returned from running a medical practice in America.

Reports suggest that the Apollo Group, which has 39 hospitals, has already expressed an interest in the operating arm of Capio UK, one of Britain's biggest hospital operators, which includes the Nightingale Hospital in London. Capio's business in Britain, which consists of 21 hospitals across the country, is part of a much larger European group of the same name.

According to the Sunday Telegraph, the Indian healthcare provider is also looking at other British targets including a home for celebrity addicts that is also Europe's leading independent provider of acute and secure mental health, neuro-rehabilitation, Priory Group.

According to the report, ABN Amro, the major shareholder in Priory, has appointed Morgan Stanley to conduct a strategic review of a proposed takeover.

The UK has witnessed a surge of transactions with the private healthcare industry consolidating into private-equity-backed portfolios. Last November Capio's shares were de-listed from the Stockholm Stock Exchange after the group agreed to a 1.2 billion pounds takeover by Opica, a company formed by Apax Partners and Nordic Capital.