(Bloomberg) -- Dubai-based private equity firm Fajr Capital is part of a consortium seeking to buy a majority stake in Aster DM Healthcare Ltd.’s Gulf business, according to people familiar with the matter.
The group includes other Middle Eastern investors and talks are at an advanced stage, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. The potential deal may carry a value of about $500 million, the people said.
Discussions are ongoing and there’s no certainty they’ll lead to a transaction, the people said. A representative for Fajr declined to comment and a representative for Aster wasn’t immediately available to comment.
Aster shares were up about 3% in Mumbai on Friday.
The firm, which operates hospitals, as well as hundreds of clinics and pharmacies across India and the Gulf region, has been working with advisers to hive off its Mideast business, Chairman Azad Moopen told Bloomberg in 2021.
Aster has been expanding in India and plans to add hundreds of hospital beds in the South Asian nation. More than half of Aster’s hospitals are in the country, but that market accounts for just about a quarter of its revenue.
“India is not giving that value to the GCC business, it’s giving discount to the GCC business,” Moopen said at the time. “We would like this to be seen separately, so that is something we are looking at.”
(Adds deckheads, updates with share move in 4th paragraph)
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