Amrex acquires more stake in Woodlands Hospital

Keshav Parasramka of Amrex Ventures Group said the acquisition reflects Amrex’s confidence in the hospital.

The Amrex Marketing Private Limited through the Amrex Ventures Group on June 8 acquired an additional 2% equity stake in the Woodlands Multispeciality Hospital Limited from Bata India Limited. Woodlands Multispeciality Hospital is one of the oldest private hospitals in the city. The amount of the acquisition is still undisclosed.

Amrex Ventures Group acquired shares in Woodlands initially in October 2019. (Amrex)

Amrex Ventures Group acquired shares in Woodlands initially in October 2019.

Keshav Parasramka of Amrex Ventures Group said the acquisition reflects Amrex’s confidence in the hospital. “Woodlands is a part of Kolkata's landscape and our acquiring additional equity stake in Woodlands reflects our confidence in the hospital. The company has never been in better financial shape and PE valuations of the healthcare sector are simply fantastic. With Bata India cashing out, we are hopeful that other legacy investors including Tata Steel, ITC and SCI will divest in our favour,” Parasramka said.

The RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group took control of at least 80% of the equity stake in Woodlands through a court-approved restructuring of debt and equity scheme in 2011.

“Sanjiv Goenka has in January 2021 announced the 300 crore expansion and modernization plan for Woodlands and it is hard not to get excited about progress like that. Other than financial aspects, hospitals will play an increasingly important role even after the present pandemic is controlled,” Parasramka said.

The share prices of hospitals saw sharp gains recently as investor focus shifted to Covid-19 related opportunities taking some of their price to earnings ratios to increasingly high levels. The resurgence of Covid-19 in the nation after a period of lull has elevated the fortunes of hospitals as demand soars for Covid-19 hospitalization. Analysts expect hospital and medical services stocks to keep climbing and outperforming Nifty over the medium term.

Amrex Marketing Private Limited, earlier of the Amrex Ventures Group, is a pioneer in the Indian alternative and financial asset industry owned by the Parasramka family that has structured unique commercial solutions for some of the largest financial institutions including ICICI Ventures, SUUTI, IDBI, etc. Amrex has invested in businesses across sectors, geographies, strategies and economic cycles.