Seven Hills Hospital: Nita Ambani-led Reliance Foundation submits bid for takeover

Mumbai: In order to acquire the troubled Seven Hills Hospital, Nita Ambani-led Reliance Foundation has joined the race and submitted its bid for it.

Reliance Foundation has submitted its expression of interest documents to buy the hospital and is now among 15 entities who have submitted their expression.

BMC sources told Mumbai Mirror that the base price for an outright sale will be close to Rs 2,100 crore. BMC holds a stake in the hospital alongside Seven Hills Healthcare's Jitendra Das Maganti.

Hyderabad Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal has declared the 1500-bedded hospital as bankrupt after Seven Hills Healthcare defaulted on bank loans worth Rs 1,300 crore.

It has been reported that Manipal Hospitals, private equity fund Bain, investments banking company JP Morgan Chase, AION Capital, Apollo Global Management, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Apollo Hospitals, Dubai based Aster DM and Narayana Health in partnership with Piramal Group has shown interest in acquiring the equity of Seven Hills.

Read also: Seven Hills hospitals for Sale: Apollo Hospitals, Aster DM, Narayan Health initial bidders

JP Morgan Chase owns 49.9 percent in Seven Hills Healthcare.

According to the new report, hospital sources said that a Reliance Foundation team including architects and engineers inspected the hospital last month.

BMC officials told Mumbai Mirror that the money owed by the hospital to banks, its employees and vendors now stands at Rs 2,100 crore. The hospital is built on a 17-acre plot owned by the BMC under a public-private partnership.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that Seven Hills Hospital is facing a major financial crunch that forced it to shut down its outpatient department services in January 2018 to save expenses. Moreover, the hospital also did not be able to pay its employees including employed and consultant doctors, which have forced the doctors to refrain from coming to duties. The hospital came out with the decision to shut down its OPD after discussing with the senior doctors and management. One of the major reasons for the shutdown comes as saving the electricity bill which ran to the tune of Rs 1 crore per month.

Read also: Seven Hills Hospital Crisis: OPD shuts down, doctors unpaid for 6 months