Temasek-backed Manipal Health files for $1.5 billion India IPO

BENGALURU – India’s Manipal Health Enterprises filed for an up to US$1.17 billion (S$1.5 billion) initial public offering (IPO) on March 24, betting on rising demand for speciality care even as the domestic equities market faces volatility amid fragile global sentiment.

The IPO comprises a fresh issue to raise US$852.2 million and an offer for sale of about 43.2 million shares by existing investors such as Singapore’s Temasek, US investment firm TPG, Manipal Education and Novo Holdings, according to its draft prospectus.

Existing investors plan to sell up to 30 billion rupees (S$409.5 million) worth of shares, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

They did not want to be named because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Demand for specialised healthcare has surged in the world’s most populous country and is a key driver of growth, analysts say, a trend that is increasingly attracting private and foreign investment from firms such as Blackstone, Novo Nordisk and KKR.

India remains an undersupplied healthcare market, with strong tailwinds from rising insurance penetration, industry consolidation favouring larger players, and higher per capita incomes driving demand for quality care, said InCred Capital head of investment banking Sanjay Singh, adding that the IPO is likely to see strong interest from both institutional and retail investors.

Manipal’s listed rival, Apollo Hospitals, said revenue from complex care such as cardiology, oncology and neurology rose 22.6 per cent in the December 2025 quarter, highlighting growing demand for advanced medical care.

Manipal’s IPO plans come amid a sharp slump in India’s equities market, with global risk-off sentiment, tightening liquidity and sustained foreign outflows weighing on it.

Foreign investors have withdrawn more than US$11.65 billion from Indian stocks so far in 2026, including more than US$10.17 billion in March alone, according to depository data.

Manipal’s lay of the land

As at Sept 30, Manipal had about 12,400 operational beds, while Apollo, valued at roughly US$10.88 billion, had nearly 10,000 and targets 13,000 beds by fiscal 2030.

For the six months to September 2025, Manipal Health posted a consolidated net profit of 5.61 billion rupees and revenue of 47.13 billion rupees.

The company plans to use IPO proceeds to repay debt and to fund its acquisition of Sahyadri Hospitals, which it bought for US$700 million. REUTERS