The restructured term of the deal comprises a cash consideration of Rs. 636 crore only against the combination of cash and equity, earlier announced by the company.
Indian diagnostic chain Metropolis Healthcare announced on October 15, 2021, that its board has given its nod for the acquisition of Hitech Diagnostic Centre along with its subsidiary Centralab Healthcare Services in a cash deal worth Rs. 636 crore.
The development was first confirmed when the news came out on January 17, 2021, as reported by PTI. Metropolis Healthcare had revealed through a regulatory filing that the company’s board had approved the acquisition of Hitech Diagnostic Centre and its subsidiary Centralab Healthcare Services in a cash-and-equity deal.
It was reported that the company had approved the acquisition by a cash consideration worth Rs. 511 crore and equity consideration of about 4,95,000 full paid-up equity shares of Rs. 2 per share.
In a BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) filing, Metropolis Healthcare stated that the board of the company has approved the amendment regarding the terms and conditions of the share purchase agreement dated January 17, 2021, contracted between Hitech Diagnostic Centre Private Limited and its shareholders for acquiring a 100 per cent stake in Hitech Diagnostic Centre together with its arm Centralab Healthcare Services.
The restructured term of the deal comprises a cash consideration of Rs. 636 crore only against the combination of cash and equity, earlier announced by the company.
The time period for the completion of the acquisition is expected to be 6 months as mentioned in the filing.
Founded in 1980, Metropolis Healthcare is a Mumbai-based multinational diagnostic chain, having a chain of more than 120 clinical laboratories along with 2400 collection centers across different countries including India. The healthcare corporation got listed publicly in April 2019.
Metropolis Healthcare was in the highlights in September 2021, for setting up a new testing centre in Nashik, Maharashtra. The newly launched 750 sq ft laboratory has capacity of conducting about 30,000 samples testing a month. The launch welcomed the chief guest Dr. Avesh Pallod, Additional Commissioner at Municipal Corporation, Nashik. The laboratory offers more than 80 different tests.
Head of Dr. Patel Metropolis Lab in Nashik, Dr. Manoj Patel shared that Metropolis Healthcare served more than 50,000 patients in Nashik during the starting phase of Covid-19 outbreak.
CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Metropolis Healthcare, Vijender Singh said that the company’s aim has always been to expand its offerings to more cities in the country, especially amid the pandemic. He further added that the team working at the labs works “day-in-day-out” with the view of ensuring perfection of the highest order.
In order to rapidly identify the drug resistance in TB patients, Metropolis Healthcare launched in July 2021,NEXTGEN TB, whole-genome sequencing of Tuberculosis by making use of the NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) platform.
NEXTGEN TB promises better turnaround time with faster and reliable results.
(Includes PTI inputs)
