New Delhi, Aug. 11 -- Mumbai-listed Aster DM Quality Care Ltd, backed by private equity giant Blackstone, is set to pick up a majority stake in a superspeciality hospital, two people close to the development told VCCircle.
Aster DM Quality Care has emerged as the front runner and is in final leg to acquire majority stake in Faridabad, Haryana-based Accord Superspeciality Hospital, one of the persons mentioned above said, adding that the deal size is in the range of Rs 650-700 crore (around $68-73.4 million) post money.
The second person said that the founders of the hospital will retain a minority stake and continue to manage the operations of the hospital.
"The deal is almost done with certain formalities left to be completed. It should be made public very soon," the second person said.
The development comes after the asset saw bidding by many top tier private equity investors including General Atlantic and KKR in addition to Blackstone.
An email written to the spokesperson for Aster DM Quality Care did not elicit any response till the time of filing this story.
In April this year, VCCircle had reported that a clutch of bulge bracket private equity firms were evaluating a deal for a majority stake Accord Superspeciality Hospital. Previously, the asset had caught the interest of independent hospital operators for an M&A.
Accord, operated by SCL Healthcare Pvt Ltd and incorporated in 2017 by a group of doctors, has over 380 beds and 20 departments, as per its website. The multi-speciality hospital offers services across cardiac health, neurology, brain and spine injury, kidney dialysis and kidney transplant, among others.
The firm posted Rs 223 crore in net sales in FY25 versus Rs 171 crore the year before. The company's losses narrowed to Rs 2.4 crore from Rs 5.5 crore over the same period, as per VCCEdge.
Blackstone in Indian healthcare
Meanwhile, Blackstone had entered the healthcare sector back in 2023 by acquiring 75 per cent stake in Quality Care India Limited (QCIL), which operates Care Hospitals, and had made it its platform to increase exposure to the segment. Around the same time, it bought a stake in Kerala-based KIMS through QCIL.
In 2024, Care Hospitals merged with Aster DM Healthcare, creating India's third largest hospital chain by number of beds after Apollo and Manipal Hospitals. The combined entity is called Aster DM Quality Care Ltd and has a portfolio of four brands: Aster DM, Care Hospitals, KIMS Health and Evercare.
The company officially changed its name and began unified operations on July 1, 2026. Blackstone currently owns 30 per cent in the combined listed entity, Aster DM Quality Care Ltd.
PE interest heats up
Hospital chains have seen massive investments from private equity giants over the last few years. A bunch of PE firms including KKR, General Atlantic and others have formed platforms to take exposure to the sector.
The Indian top hospital chains are now largely led by private equity majors.
Recently, US private equity firm KKR struck a deal to acquire the India hospital business of Swedish healthcare provider Medicover AB in a deal valued at €1.2 billion (around $1.4 billion, or Rs 13,190 crore), strengthening its push to build a larger hospital platform in the country.
KKR has been using Baby Memorial Hospital as a vehicle to acquire more hospitals in India; the PE major had bought a majority stake in the hospital in 2024.
Earlier, Baby Memorial Hospital had acquired Hyderabad-based Star Hospitals to boost its regional presence. Last year, Baby Memorial Hospital also bought Kerala's Meitra Hospital and Tamil Nadu-based Naruvi Hospitals.
Separately, KKR also owns a controlling stake in HCG.
General Atlantic, which created its own platform by acquiring Ujala Cygnus in 2024, is in talks to add capacity through acquisitions in North India. The latest bet, which is a hospital based in Ludhiana, comes soon after it acquired Amandeep Hospitals in Punjab.
Manipal Hospitals, which recently went public, is backed by PE giants Temasek and TPG.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.