KKR to invest $200m in Indian hospital operator

Radiant entered the healthcare space in 2010 under the leadership of Abhay Soi, who made his name as a financial restructuring specialist. The company found initial success with the redevelopment of BLK Super Specialty Hospital, one of the largest private sector care facilities in the Delhi and National Capital Region area. It is currently being expanded from 650 beds to 1,600 beds.

In 2014, Radiant took over the 350-bed Nanavati Super Specialty Hospital in Mumbai. The plan to upgrade the facilities and grow to 1,000 beds within four years is typical of Radiant’s business thesis: to refurbish and improve hospitals through the introduction of high-end specialty services, recruiting experienced medical professionals, re-engineering processes, and capacity expansion.

KKR is investing in the business through its third pan-Asian fund, which closed at $9.3 billion in early June. It will support Soi and his team as they look to implement this thesis on a wider level.

“This is an exciting time for health care in India given the growing demand for superior medical treatment. In this industry, scale and operating leverage are increasingly important, and Radiant has a unique opportunity to acquire assets during a time of industry consolidation,” said Sanjay Nayar, CEO of KKR India, in a statement.

There is a relatively long history of private equity investment in Indian hospital chains. The country’s two leading operators, Fortis Healthcare and Apollo Hospitals, have received PE funding at various points, while last year Advent International sold number five player CARE Hospitals to The Abraaj Group. In addition, the International Finance Corporation is a longstanding investor in Max Healthcare, another market leader.

True North, which has perhaps the largest hospital exposure out of India’s domestic private equity firms, recently added Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) to a portfolio that also includes stakes in Manipal Hospitals, Cloudnine Hospitals and Aster DM Healthcare.

KKR has invested more than $3 billion through its private equity practice in India since 2006. In March, it teamed up with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) to invest INR62 billion ($953 million) in the cell tower arm of telecom services provider Bharti Airtel. The following month KKR has sold its entire stake in conglomerate Dalmia Bharat for INR15.3 billion.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Healthcare
• Expansion
• India
• KKR
• Growth capital