KMC acquires 33.97 pc stake from Seahorse Hospitals

Chennai, Feb 11 (UNI) The Trichy-based Kavery Medical Centre and Hospital (KMC) today announced acquisition of 33.97 per cent stake from Seahorse Hospitals Limited and would be issuing open offer for a further 20 per cent of shares tomorrow.

Talking to newspersons here, KMC Managing Director S Chandrakumar said the share purchase agreement was signed a couple of days back and the acquisition was valued at about Rs 20 crore.

''Another Rs ten crore will be deployed for refurbishing the equipments over a period of 12 months'', he added.

The open offer with a price band of Rs 10 per share would be issued tomorrow for additional 20 per cent shares, to take the total stake in Seahorse Hospitals, situated one km away from KMC, to 53.97 per cent.

With this new acquisition, the total bed strength of KMC increased to 400 from the present 225 and the hospital was eyeing a turnover of Rs 200 crore from the present Rs 20 crore (at the end of March 31, 2007) by 2011-12. The hospital was expecting a 25 per cent growth in turnover to Rs 25 crore during the current fiscal.

Outlining the vision for the next three years to attain the target of Rs 200 crore turnover, Dr Chandrakumar said an additional Rs 100 crore would be invested to have 1000 beds in Tamil Nadu with KMC, Trichy as the referral tertiary care hospital.

''We will set up secondary care hospitals with 100 to 150 beds in Tier-II cities, besides having 10 to 12 primary care centres around the referral hospital in the next three years'', he said.

All the secondary and primary care centres would be linked to telemedicine facility.

He said Rs 100 crore infusion of fresh funds would be in the form of Rs 50 crore debt, Rs 30 crore as equity and the rest through internal accruals.

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