Alisha Moopen insists that mergers in the healthcare sector are not just about business, but help provide quality medical treatment to smaller towns.

“Doctors in Bengaluru, who may not live and go to Kolhapur (about 600 km away), are willing to go to Kolhapur once a week or once a month and do the kind of surgeries that a hospital in Kolhapur cannot do,” Moopen, deputy managing director of Aster DM Healthcare, said in an interview. he told Mint.

“So you actually have the opportunity to share resources, to share information, to ensure that your doctors who are sitting in the metros, who are living in the cities, are the ones doing further studies at this point. Moopen said, “With this network, you can go to second, third level cities and enable them to go there, so they don’t have to come to urban cities.” he said.

The other benefit of any merger is the scale of a larger network, he said. “If the scale increases, my purchasing power and negotiations are much higher, providing benefits that I hope are transferable.”

Moopen’s comments come amid reports that Bengaluru-based Aster is merging with Hyderabad-based Care Hospitals. According to a Mint report dated August 5, will merge to become India’s third largest hospital chain.

Moopen did not comment on questions about the possible merger.

Aster stated the following in its application to the stock exchange in September: the company was regularly exploring strategic opportunities No material events have occurred that require disclosure under the listing obligations and disclosure requirements of the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

But Moopen said Aster is pursuing plans to add almost 2,000 beds over the next three years.

“Expansion will require an investment of approximately 200 million lira ₹1,500 crore; The hospital chain is already located around ₹250 crore in the last 6 to 12 months. So different ₹1,250 crore will be invested and this investment will be financed mainly through internal accruals,” he said.

Aster currently has approximately 5,000 beds.

Influx of global investors

India’s healthcare sector has seen increasing interest from investors.

In October last year, Blackstone Group Inc. acquired controlling interests in Care Hospitals and Kims Health in a $1 billion multi-layered dealThis marks the US-based private equity firm’s first investment in India’s healthcare sector.

In April last year, Sheares Healthcare, a unit of Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Manipal Health EnterprisesIt increased its share from approximately 18% to 59%. ₹16,400 crore. However, in February this year Singapore government’s investment arm Temasek sells up to 8 percent stake in Manipal Mubadala Investment Co., Novo Holdings, and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.

More recently, in July this year, the private equity giant KKR acquires controlling stake in Kerala-based Baby Memorial Hospital. The US private equity fund also includes drugmaker JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd, health technology company Infinx and medical device manufacturer Healthium.

Additionally, Canada’s Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan holds a majority stake in Pune-based Sahyadri Hospitals.

“The hospital sector, which includes multi-specialty and single-specialty hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare providers, has been the sector with the highest growth and the center of deal activity since 2024,” the law firm said. Nishith Desai Associates said this in a report in August.

“This trend is expected to continue in the second half of 2024 and in the following years, with the main focus being on increasing bed capacity and expanding the geographical reach of such hospitals,” the report said. The statement was included.

Factors contributing to the growing interest in India’s healthcare sector include increased insurance penetration due to the pandemic and the government’s Ayushman Bharat Scheme, Moopen said.

The government’s national public health insurance program aims to provide low-income people with free access to health insurance coverage. It currently covers nearly 500 million poor people in the country and is being expanded to include all citizens over the age of 70.

“People want to have insurance because they want to know that they have access to quality care. Ayushman Bharat will be the biggest turning point for people and the world,” said Moopen.

“Taking a slightly more futuristic approach, talking about the amount of data that will be available, taking care of 25% of the population with Ayushman Bharat will be a game changer in healthcare across the world,” Moopen said. He explained that large amounts of data on people’s health will allow healthcare professionals to “run models in terms of health prediction.”