THE DOCTOR COMES CALLING

WITH MANIPAL HOSPITALS WRAPPING UP A DEAL TO BUY COLUMBIA ASIA HOSPITALS, RANJAN PAI HAS CHALKED OFF A MAJOR ITEM ON HIS BUCKET LIST: BUILDING A PAN-INDIA HOSPITAL CHAIN. BUT THE SAVVY ENTREPRENEUR IS FAR FROM DONE AND IS GUNNING FOR THE NO.1 POSITION.

- Debojyoti Ghosh

EXPERTS SAY THAT LIKE IN THE U.S., IT’S THE BRAND, RATHER THAN A STAR DOCTOR, THAT ATTRACTS PATIENTS TO MANIPAL HOSPITALS.

IN THE SUMMER OF 2020, Ranjan Pai was fighting two battles. On one hand, the chairman of Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG) was trying to

limit the effects of a national lockdown on his hospital chain, Manipal Hospitals. On the other, the 48-year-old billionaire entrepreneur was trying to salvage a big-ticket acquisition that would kickstart his long-held dream of a pan-India hospital chain.

Then in November, Bengaluru-based Manipal Health Enterprises Private Limited (MHEPL), which runs Manipal Hospitals, announced it would buy Columbia Asia Hospitals in India for about ₹2,200 crore in cash. That will give the predominantly south Indiafocussed MHEPL a presence in cities such as Kolkata, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Patiala, and Pune. The combined entity will operate 7,300 beds in 27 hospitals across 15 cities, making it India’s second-largest hospital chain after Chennai-based Apollo Hospitals.

The deal not only helps Pai—a doctor by training, but better known as a successful entrepreneur and investor—reduce MHEPL’s dependence on a few geographies and hospitals, but comes as a sort of vindication after previous failed attempts at mega deals. The first was in 2017, when Pai and TPG Capital, one of the world’s largest private equity firms and a long-term MHEPL investor, went after Gurugram-based Fortis Healthcare, a deal that would have catapulted Manipal Hospitals past Apollo Hospitals. The second marquee deal that fell through was for Gurugrambased Medanta in 2019.