On June 21, 9.3 percent of Aster DM Healthcare’s equity was sold for Rs 1,607 crore in block deals, with private equity firm Olympus likely selling part of its remaining stake in the company.
Previously, on June 20, Moneycontrol reported that Olympus intended to sell a 5 percent equity stake in Aster DM, with the option to sell an additional 5 percent, potentially marking its complete exit from the Indian healthcare company.
Approximately 4.7 crore shares were traded at Rs 345 per share, reflecting a discount of over 3 percent from the last closing price. This transaction price is also about 15 percent lower than Olympus’ previous stake sale in the company.
In March, Olympus had divested a 9.8 percent stake in Aster DM for Rs 1,978 crore, at Rs 405-406.72 per share, reducing its shareholding to 10.1 percent.
The share price of Aster DM marginally increased on June 21, continuing the previous day’s 1.1 percent gain, and was trading above Rs 357 in the opening trade. However, the stock has fallen nearly 19 percent since March 27—when Olympus last sold its stake—and has dropped 36 percent from its mid-April high.
In a related move, Aster DM Healthcare had initiated a significant internal restructuring in 2022 to unlock value and had approached Gulf funds and sovereign funds to sell a stake in its Middle East operations. In November 2022, the company approved the sale of its Middle East or GCC (Gulf Co-Operation Council) business to Alpha GCC Holdings Ltd for an equity value of one billion dollars.
Aster DM Healthcare, which primarily operates in India and the Middle East, debuted in the domestic market in February 2018. The promoter family currently holds a 41.88 percent stake in the company.
