Novo Holdings, the parent company of Danish diabetes drugmaker Novo Nordisk, on Tuesday said it has bought a stake in Indian private hospital chain Manipal Hospitals, in its largest investment in Asia to date.
While the size of the investment was not disclosed. Earlier this week, Singapore state investor Temasek said it offloaded 8% of its stake to investors including Novo Holdings, Mubadala Investment Company, and California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS).
Temasek had pumped in $2 billion for an additional 41% stake in Manipal Hospitals in April 2023, taking its total holding to 59%.
Novo Holdings had assets of 108 billion euros as of year-end 2022. Its other investments in Asia include Doctor Anywhere, Esco, Halodoc, Hummingbird, LePure, MedGenome, Qure.ai and Sangon Biotech.
Established in 1991, Manipal Hospitals has a pan-India footprint of 33 hospitals, serving an annual footfall of about 6 million patients.
Among other prominent deals sealed in the Indian hospital segment, BPEA EQT picked up a 60% stake in Indira IVF Hospital in July last year, which paved the way for the exit of existing backer TA Associates. Quadria, too, made headlines in the same month when it announced an investment in Maxivision Eye Hospital, which runs a network of eye care clinics.
The transactions go on to signal how investors are increasingly looking to ramp up their investments in Indian hospitals that are looking to capitalise on the abatement of the pandemic and unmet demand for healthcare services in the country.
A rising middle class, paired with an increased appreciation for advanced medical facilities and quality healthcare services, has driven an uptick in demand for private hospital care in the country, Novo Holdings said, adding that other factors include the expansion of health insurance coverage and the sophistication of medical technology adopted at private institutions.
“It (the investment in Manipal Hospitals) represents our commitment towards filling the gap between the enormous demand and underserved healthcare infrastructure in India,” Navjeewan J. Khosla, Partner, Novo Holdings Asia Investments, said.
In September, Manipal Hospitals acquired an 84% stake in AMRI Hospitals to expand its presence in eastern India.