Seven Hills founder moves co tribunal against hospital sale

MUMBAI: The founder of Seven Hills Hospital in Marol, Jitendra Maganti, has filed objections to a proposal to its sale to UAE-based billionaire B R Shetty in the National Company Law Tribunal. Maganti is understood to have filed the objections several months ago.


In August 2018, lenders had voted in favour of a Rs 950-crore bid from Shetty who has large interest in the healthcare industry. Shetty’s bid was in response to applications invited by lenders after they initiated insolvency proceedings against the hospital. The bid represents nearly 75% of the Rs 1,270 crore dues claimed by lenders.

The lenders’ interest in the hospital have been taken over by Broadpeak Investment Advisors and JM Financial Asset Reconstruction and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Besides the lenders, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has made claims of over Rs 150 crore on the hospital. The bid by the BRS Group will include the money that has to be paid to BMC.

Seven Hills Hospital was referred to the bankruptcy court originally by Axis Bank which had an exposure of Rs 770 crore to the hospital. Founded by Maganti in the 1980s, Seven Hills had set up two hospital properties. The first in Vishakapatnam in 1986 and another one in Mumbai in 2010. The Mumbai hospital started facing problems soon after opening up due to its dispute with BMC. The hospital was constructed on BMC land which was given on a 30-year lease on the condition that the hospital would reserve 20% of its beds for free treatment of poor patients. The hospital’s failure to meet this obligation resulted in a prolonged legal dispute.

Shetty’s New Medical Centre Health (NMC) operates hospitals across the world and is the first healthcare company from the Gulf region to be listed in the London Stock Exchange.