Wall Street came to India chasing one of the world’s greatest hospital growth stories. It found something else too: a fight over who will pick up the bill.
Blackstone, KKR, TPG, General Atlantic and other global investors have spent about $10 billion buying stakes in Indian hospital chains over the past five years, according to data compiled by EY. That influx of capital has helped finance new facilities, expensive technology and a wave of consolidation in a country desperately short of hospital beds. It’s also made India one of the world’s most active markets for private-equity-driven hospital consolidation. Although PE-backed operators account for less than 5% of the country’s hospital beds, they command a presence in high-margin specialties such as cardiac surgery and cancer care.
