On the Prowl

Manipal's insatiable appetite for acquisitions has made it the biggest hospital chain in the country this year

- Tarunya Sanjay

Just a few days before the financial year came to an end in 2018, it seemed like Manipal, the fourth-largest hospital chain by beds at the time, was within striking distance of moving to pole position.

The promoters of Fortis were in serious need of cash and Manipal scion Ranjan Pai had quickly chalked out a deal to buy out the Delhi-based hospital chain. All that remained was a dab of ink on the dotted line.

Pai didn't expect what came next.

A group of minority shareholders of Fortis, including the likes of Rakesh Jhunjunwala and YES Bank, revolted as they thought they were getting a raw deal. The board of Fortis was ousted. Meanwhile, a handful of competing suitors emerged from the shadows—the Burmans, the Munjals, Chinese conglomerate Fosun and Malaysian healthcare major IHH.

Over the next few months, a bidding war ensued which Manipal ultimately lost. Next year, it went out on a campaign to buy out Medanta, and that deal fell through as well. "All of it helped us learn and strengthen our resolve," Pai, chairman of Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG), says.

Of course he wasn't going to give up trying.

Pai's first brush with a career disappointment had happened early in life—he terms it a "wake-up call"—when he failed to get into a medical college run by his own family. He initially had to settle for a lower-ranked college, but fought back and secured a seat in Manipal a year later.

That doggedness to come back up from a defeat has remained with Pai. So, when he sensed an opportunity to acquire the Indian assets of Columbia Asia Hospitals during Covid, he had to take another shot.

Not only did the ₹2,100-crore purchase bring 1,600 hospital beds, perhaps more importantly it broke the jinx of failing to crack the big deals. Between then and now, Manipal has been on a buying streak—it has gobbled up four more chains for over ₹10,300 crore.