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Private equity giant KKR has acquired Medicover India, the Indian hospital arm of Sweden's Medicover AB, in a deal valuing the business at $1.3 billion.
Established in 2017, Medicover India is a multi-specialty hospital network with 24 hospitals and around 4,800 beds across South and West India.
Why it matters: this isn't KKR's first healthcare bet. Since 2004, the firm has invested billions of dollars in healthcare globally. In India, its healthcare journey began in 2018 with a $293 million investment in Max Healthcare.
With this acquisition, Medicover becomes one of KKR's largest active healthcare investments in India.
KKR fully exited in 2022, selling its stake for around $1.16 billion, generating a 5x return. At the time, it was KKR's largest-ever exit in India.
Since then, KKR has been rebuilding its healthcare portfolio. It acquired Healthium Medtech for $839 million in 2024, bought a controlling stake in Kerala's Baby Memorial Hospital the same year, and acquired a 54% stake in HCG from CVC Capital for $400 million last year.
Some numbers: Medicover previously owned 66.1% of its Indian hospital business, while minority shareholders held the remaining 33.9%. KKR is acquiring the entire 100%, giving Medicover a complete exit from India. In return, Medicover will receive €740 million in gross cash proceeds.
As of June this year, the business was generating annual revenue of €220.5 million, or over ₹2,000 crore.
The bigger picture: according to McKinsey & Company, private equity and venture capital investments in India totalled $207 billion between 2021 and 2025. Pharmaceuticals and healthcare accounted for roughly 10% of that, making the sector one of the largest recipients of private capital.
Co-investments made up about 25% of total private equity deployment, with healthcare accounting for 8% of that pool.
