Ahead of mega ₹9,275-crore IPO, Manipal plans 3,000 new beds, eyes expansion

Temasek-backed Manipal Health Enterprises on Friday announced a price band of ₹560-590 per share for its ₹9,275-crore initial public offering (IPO), with the issue opening on July 29.

As it prepares to list, the country's largest private hospital network by bed capacity said it will focus on improving occupancy, expanding capacity and strengthening its presence in existing and new markets, while using the IPO proceeds to significantly reduce debt.

The management said that the company's immediate priority would be to improve utilisation across its existing hospitals while continuing to expand its footprint.

"As we look ahead, three factors will drive our growth — increasing occupancy from the current 65%, adding new bed capacity and unlocking the full potential of Sahyadri Hospitals," Dilip Jose, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Manipal Hospitals said.

Manipal already has around 2,400-2,500 beds under development, including projects in Mumbai and Raipur, and expects these additions to support its next leg of growth. At the same time, the company is evaluating opportunities to enter Kerala, Hyderabad and the National Capital Region.

"These are geographies where we would keep our eyes open for future opportunities," Jose said.

Expansion over the past five years has largely been driven by acquisitions, with Manipal adding hospital networks such as Columbia Asia, Vikram Hospital, Medica and Sahyadri Hospitals. Jose said the company's ability to integrate these assets had become one of its competitive strengths.

"What differentiates Manipal is not only our ability to acquire hospital assets but also to integrate them into one clinical standard, one operating standard, one management process and one IT platform," he said.

The company has integrated 31 hospitals over the past five years, creating regional clusters that management believes have improved operational efficiency and clinical outcomes.

The company said that every acquisition follows a structured integration process, beginning with people and culture before moving to clinical programmes, operating systems and eventually the Manipal brand.

"We first integrate people and culture, followed by clinical programmes and operating processes. The final step is transitioning the hospitals to the Manipal brand," Karthik Rajagopal, Chief Operating Officer, Manipal Hospitals said .

Rajagopal said Sahyadri Hospitals is expected to be fully integrated within about 10 months. He added that Manipal's cluster strategy had helped two recently launched hospitals in Bengaluru break even within two and five months, demonstrating the benefits of expanding in markets where the company already has an established presence.

"The quick break-even was driven by careful selection of micro-markets, a strong brand and operational rigour," he said, adding that projects in Mumbai and Raipur would take longer to mature as they represent new markets for the company.

The IPO proceeds will primarily be used to strengthen the company's balance sheet following the Sahyadri acquisition and fund future expansion.

The company said that around ₹6,500 crore of the proceeds would be used to repay acquisition-related borrowings. "With this IPO, we practically become a net debt-zero company," Samir Agarwal, Chief Financial Officer, Manipal Hospitals said. 

Lower leverage would also provide greater financial flexibility as the company executes its expansion plans. Manipal intends to invest around ₹4,000 crore over the next four to five years to add nearly 3,000 beds through a combination of greenfield and brownfield projects, with most of the investment expected to come from internal accruals.

Jose further said the company continued to see strong demand across both metropolitan and non-metropolitan markets, where rising incomes and greater health awareness are supporting demand for organised healthcare providers.

"The non-metros are a key demand area. We are very well placed to tap into that opportunity. Manipal would continue to operate as a professionally managed company after listing," he said. "This is a board-run, professionally managed enterprise. It is not a promoter-run company," Jose said.

The IPO comprises a fresh issue of ₹8,000 crore and an offer-for-sale of up to 2.16 crore equity shares, taking the total issue size to ₹9,275 crore at the upper end of the price band. Fresh issue proceeds include ₹5,552.8 crore for repayment of debt at subsidiary Manipal Hospitals Pvt. Ltd. and ₹574 crore for acquiring the remaining minority stake in Sahyadri Hospitals. The balance will be used for general corporate purposes.

As of March 31, 2026, Manipal Health operated 49 hospitals with 13,037 licensed beds across 14 states and Union Territories. The company reported revenue from operations of ₹10,335.8 crore and a net profit of ₹916.5 crore in FY26.