NRI takes stake in Global Hospitals

Dr Harinath Policherla, a non-resident Indian doctor, has picked up 29 per cent stake in the Hyderabad-based Ravindranath-GE Medical Associates, which owns Global Hospitals.

While preferring not to disclose the value of the stake investment in the privately held company, Dr K. Ravindranath, Managing Director, Global Hospitals said, the funds would be sufficient to finance the upcoming hospital ventures in Mumbai and Kolkata.

As part of the Rs 500-crore expansion plan announced by the company, hospitals will be set up in Bangalore, New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and another one in Hyderabad. For the Mumbai and Kolkata hospitals, an investment to the tune of Rs 275 crore has been envisaged, he told newspersons on Monday.

Dr Harinath Policherla, a neurologist, with experience in medical and healthcare management in the US, will join as Vice-President of the Company and Chairman of Global Hospitals' neurology department. In the Bangalore hospital, a large neurosciences facility with research component was being added.

Dr Ravindranath said the hospitals in Bangalore and Kolkata, which are coming up on a trust and State Government offered land, would offer quality, free medical service to 10 per cent of the patients. This is the first significant stake investment in the company.

Dr Harinath said his involvement with Global Hospitals would not just be to help in capturing good business opportunities from the West in healthcare, but also to bring quality, affordable medical expertise to the country.

Before deciding on the investment, a due diligence of Global Hospitals was done by Grant Thornton, a US-based audit firm. Back in the US, Dr Harinath is with a reputed Medical Centre and into medical business, with primary healthcare and sleep labs as well as into hospital management.

Source: The Hindu