Fortis Healthcare Ltd. today announced the successful completion of the Rs 909 Crore Wockhardt hospitals acquisition. The acquisition has been made under a wholly owned subsidiary, Fortis Hospitals Limited and funded partly by the recently concluded Rights issue, internal accruals and debt.

The deal was originally announced on August 24, 2009 when, Fortis executed a binding agreement to acquire 10 hospitals, which constitute a major part of FY09 Wockhardt Hospitals Ltd.

This acquisition is in line with Fortis’s strategy of deep penetration in key metro cities. With the addition of the ten Wockhardt hospitals, Fortis will now have 6 hospitals in Bangalore, 4 hospitals in Mumbai and 3 hospitals in Kolkatta apart from a vast presence in NCR and a major facility in Chennai.

The hospitals are delivering high end critical care to both domestic and international patients in the areas of Cardiac, Neuro Sciences, Orthopaedics, Minimal Invasive Surgery, Renal Sciences, Kidney and Liver transplants.

Two of the acquired Wockhardt hospitals have the coveted international accreditation by JCI (Joint Commission International). With this Fortis now has 3 JCI accredited hospitals in its network. This positions Fortis strongly as a quality destination of choice for Medical Value Travel.

The existing talented team of medical and non-medical professionals will transition to Fortis and will continue to run, the operations to consistently deliver compassionate and high quality patient care.

Commenting on the announcement Mr. Shivinder Mohan Singh, Managing Director of Fortis Healthcare said, “Fortis is now poised to leverage its national footprint and leadership position to take healthcare delivery in India to another level. We will be able to demonstrate the benefit of scale to our customers through quality, cost, and accessibility”.

Mr. Malvinder Mohan Singh, Group Chairman Fortis Healthcare and Religare Enterprises, while welcoming the employees of the ten newly acquired hospitals to the Fortis family said, “This acquisition is an important milestone in our efforts to establish Fortis in a leadership position in the Indian Healthcare delivery space. We are confident that shared values of Wockhardt.Hospitals and Fortis Healthcare will form the basis for our continued success in the future,” He added, “This acquisition further reinforces Fortis position of being one, of the fastest growing healthcare providers in the country”.

With the closure of the deal, Fortis has established its presence across India with a network of 39 hospitals. The acquisition has enhanced Fortis’ footprint in Southern, Western and Eastern India thereby strengthening the Fortis brand as being one of the leading healthcare services providers in the country.

The acquisition of the Wockhardt hospitals along with the existing Escorts Network of hospitals gives Fortis a rich legacy and experience of over 20 years in the Indian healthcare industry.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Vishal Bali, CEO, Fortis Hospitals Ltd said “We are excited to be part of the dynamic Fortis Group and look forward to sharing the expertise and passion of the combined network to better serve the patients”.

Religare Capital Markets (the investment banking arm of Religare) acted as advisors to Fortis Healthcare for this deal.