Wockhardt Hospitals, the wholly owned subsidiary of pharma major Wockhardt Ltd, is pumping in Rs 900 crore as part of its expansion across the country. This includes setting up 16 new hospitals, taking the total number of hospitals to 31 by March 2009. The expansion will be funded through an initial public offering of shares (IPO) to be floated soon.
Out of the 16 new hospitals, 11 will be brownfield hospitals, where Wockhardt will tie up with small or mid-sized hospitals in tier II towns and use and expand their facilities by investing on a profit sharing model. The new brownfield hospitals will come up at Ludhiana, Varanasi, Bhopal, Surat, and Goa, while the five greenfield hospitals, built, and owned by Wockhardt, will come up at South Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata.
Vishal Bali, chief executive officer, Wockhardt Hospitals Ltd, told FE, ?The new hospitals will be operational by March 2009. We will enter into agreements with hospitals in tier II cities and as per the deal, we will use their facilities on a profit sharing basis. We will set up this kind of brownfield hospitals in 11 cities.? Wockhardt Hospitals is floating an initial public offer (IPO) in the near future. Bali refused to disclose the money to be raised and how it will be invested.
Currently, the company has 15 hospitals across India. By March 2009, the total number of beds will be increased to 3,300 from the present 1,474. Bali ascertained that the company has no overseas plans at the moment.
…fixes price band for IPO
Wockhardt Hospitals Limited has fixed the price band between Rs 280 and Rs 310 per equity share for its IPO of 25,087,097 equity shares of Rs 10 each for cash at a price determined through a 100% book building process. The company filed a Red Herring Prospectus with the Registrar of Companies, Maharashtra, at Mumbai on Thursday.