Columbia Asia on the market; could Mitsui-IHH combine scoop it up?

29 facilities and 2,600 beds of which 1,200 are in India. Existing investors in Columbia Asia Hospitals have put up the chain for sale, an all-or-nothing sale. Investors are making a beeline to a hospital chain about which everyone has good things to say. Who has a better chance? The Japanese, the Chinese or the good old American PEs

Columbia Asia group has 29 medical facilities in Asia which are up for sale

According to the hospital group's competitors, it is all or nothing. A piecemeal acquisition is not an option

In 2018, Columbia Asia consolidated all its shares and its holding company now owns 99.99% shares

The group CEO quit and went back to IHH, his former employer, which is a potential buyer

Columbia Asia Hospitals—a $2-billion chain—is up for grabs. With 29 medical facilities and 2,600 beds, that’s Columbia Asia’s total value across Asian countries like Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and of course, India. Unsurprisingly, a large number of international private equity firms (PEs) and other buyers want in.

Columbia Asia entered India in 2003 to run community hospitals. Its premise was access—people should have medical care within 10 kilometres of their homes for 70-80% of their healthcare needs. The chain’s dozen hospitals in India, however, are mid-sized, with fewer than 1,200 beds in all, and yet, the chance to buy it is being touted as a ‘once-in-a-decade’ opportunity for potential suitors.

AUTHOR

Suraksha P

Suraksha writes on Healthcare and Pharma. She has been a journalist for five years, reporting for The New Indian Express in Bengaluru and Chennai, and The Times of India, Delhi. In her previous stints she has written on health, civic issues and education. She investigated cover up of corruption in the state health department’s think tank, narrated harrowing tales of women who underwent unwarranted hysterectomies, and wrote about how loss of biometrics came in the way of Leprosy patients getting an Aadhaar card and thereby pension. She can be reached at suraksha at the-ken dot com.

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