Fortis in talks with PE players to sell 20% stake: report

Hospitals chain Fortis Healthcare India Ltd is in talks with private equity firms Carlyle Group and TPG Capital India to sell a 15-20 percent holding, the Mint reported on Thursday, citing sources close to the development.

Reacting to the news report the stock gained 1. 5 percent on the BSE to trade at Rs 101.55.

The company aims to raise around $250 million through a combination of equity and convertible debt instruments from the PE firms, the newspaper said, adding a deal could happen over the next two weeks.

[caption id="attachment_259320" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="Malvinder Singh, Chairman of Fortis"][/caption]

A spokeswoman for Fortis told Reuters the report was "baseless", while a Carlyle spokesman said he had no comment. Officials at TPG Capital could not be immediately reached.

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The founders of the Fortis Healthcare, billionaire Singh brothers Malvinder and Shivinder, also plans to sell 6.5% of their stake through a stock auction, the newspaper said.

The hospitals chain is planning to add 600 beds to its capacity of 4,100 beds, its Chief Executive Aditya Vij told Reuters in February.

Reuters