Amar Ujala Acquires Majority Stake in Cygnus Medicare to Expand Healthcare Access in Tier-2 and Tier-3 Cities Across Northern India

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that on November 25, 2019, Amar Ujala, a leading media company in India, announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Cygnus Medicare Pvt., a regional hospital chain, for 1.3 billion Indian rupees (approximately $18.18 million).

Cygnus, established in 2011, is a regional hospital chain in India founded by a group of highly skilled physicians. The hospital was originally created to bring high-quality medical services to tier-2 and tier-3 cities in northern India with inadequate healthcare infrastructure, thereby extending the reach of specialized healthcare innovation to these non-metropolitan areas.

In just a few short years, Cygnus has grown into a super-specialty hospital chain comprising more than 10 centers of clinical excellence, with over 1,000 beds and a robust workforce of 1,600 skilled healthcare professionals, delivering international-standard healthcare to more than one million people in small communities across North India.

Amar Ujala, established in 1948, is a leading news media company in India. Co-founded by Shuchin Bajaj and Dr. Naveen Nishchal, the company is currently actively expanding into healthcare-related businesses, aiming to provide better medical services to patients in India.

As part of the transaction, Amar Ujala’s two healthcare hospitals will merge with Cygnus. According to the Ujala Healthcare website, these hospitals are located in Kashipur, Uttarakhand, and Rohtak, Haryana, respectively. Probal Ghosal, Chairman of Amar Ujala, will serve as Chairman of the merged entity, while Dinesh Batra, Founder and CEO of Cygnus, and Company Director Shuchin Bajaj will continue in their current roles.

The transaction also includes a secondary component, enabling Cygnus to achieve a full exit for its angel investors and a partial exit for its private equity investors—Eight Roads Ventures, Somerset Indus, and Evolvence India. Cygnus’s promoters and private equity investors will retain their remaining stakes, while Amar Ujala will hold a majority stake and exercise management control through its healthcare division.

Regarding the post-merger development direction, Probal Ghosal, Chairman of Amar Ujala, stated: “Currently, the company operates 10 hospitals in Delhi and Haryana, with over 1,000 beds. We plan to expand to 20 hospitals within three years and establish multiple access points within primary healthcare institutions. Our venture into this sector aims to support medical professionals in tier-2 and tier-3 cities in Northern India, where healthcare services are underserved.”

Regarding the company’s business model, Probal Ghosal added, “We adhere to an asset-light model, securing hospital projects through long-term leases and, in some cases, adopting revenue-sharing arrangements.”

Dinesh Batra, founder of Cygnus, stated, “This transaction will significantly improve the quality of medical services in local tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The asset-light model pursued by Amar Ujala and us is highly scalable in India.”

(Compiled by Wang Fang)