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29 March 2024

Dubai's Aster DM Healthcare to list in Bombay

Company is currently in the process of filing an application to the Indian regulator. (Dennis B Mallari)

Published
By Waheed Abbas

Dubai-based Aster DM Healthcare will list on India’s Bombay Stock Exchange and has appointed three banks to arrange its initial public offering, its chairman said.

The company is currently in the process of filing an application to the Indian regulator and will submit documents in the next two months.

Dr. Azad Moopen, Chairman and Managing Director of Aster DM Healthcare, said the company will list in the second or third quarter of company’s financial year which starts from March.

Three banks – Goldman Sachs, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch and Kotak – have been appointed to arrange the IPO and evaluate the company’s size, said Dr. Moopen.

“We will list the company on the Bombay Stock Exchange and will submit application in the next two months with the Indian market regulator Sebi. We can look at the option of dual-listing later either on Dubai or London bourses,” said Dr. Azad Moopen told Emirates 24l7 in an interview on Wednesday.

He, however, declined to comment on the size of the IPO and company, citing regulatory constraints.

In January 2014, Dr. Moopen had announced plan to raise $200m (Dh734m) through the IPO. He had expected Aster’s size in the range of $1.5 to $2 billion as the banks were evaluating the company’s books at that time. Quoting unnamed sources, Times of India reported in November about Aster’s plan to raise Rs12 billion (Dh716m) through the offering.

Aster follows the footstep of other UAE-based healthcare companies such as NMC Health and Al Noor Hospitals which opted to list overseas on the London bourse.

Dr. Moopen was addressing the media to announce the opening of a new 100-bed hospital in Mankhool, Dubai, as part of group’s plan to open five new healthcare facilities in the UAE and Qatar in 2015-16.

“This is the first of our five Aster DM Hospitals that are in various stages of construction at this point. We have two more Aster hospitals coming up in Qusais and Abu Dhabi over the next two years; and then again under the Medcare brand, we have one general hospital in Sharjah and another boutique woman and child hospital coming up in Sheikh Zayed Road. We currently have about 450 beds under construction in the UAE. The number of units under the Group is set to grow to 300 units by the year 2017,” Dr. Moopen added.

He said Aster is currently focusing heavily on India operations with an aim to increase substantially increase the revenues. The group owns and operates a network of over 230 units across the Middle East and India.