Adani Group to partner with US’ Mayo Clinic for new hospital business

Adani Group, on Monday, tied up with US-based Mayo Clinic Global Consulting, to ramp up its budding healthcare business by setting up two health campuses in Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

The group aims to set up 1000-bed multi-speciality hospitals, along with medical research institutes, with an initial investment of at least ₹6,000 crore by the Adani family.

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On Monday, Mint first broke that the group is in advanced discussions to launch a new hospital venture called Adani Health City through a partnership with Mayo Clinic.

According to a person close to the development, the Gautam Adani-led port-to-energy conglomerate will open Adani Health City in Kandivali, Mumbai, comprising a multi-speciality hospital and research and educational institutes on the campus.

₹10,000 crore initially

According to this person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the group has plans to invest a total of over ₹10,000 crore in the initial phase of strengthening the healthcare business under the partnership and open more health campuses in other cities.

“The hospital space in India is dramatically under-penetrated ... there are plenty of opportunities for organized players to come in," Aditya Khemka, Incred PMS’s healthcare fund manager, told Mint. “It is a micro-market business; the hospital has a radius of 15-20 km—70-80% of its revenues come from that radius."

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Khemka added that both Mumbai and Ahmedabad are healthcare-deprived markets, when it comes to tertiary care, as compared to cities in South India. The Adani Group might not face stiff competition from established chains in these markets, he added.

The company said in a release that under the partnership, the Adani family will spend on offering affordable medical care and medical education services.

Social capital boost

A senior hospital executive, who did not wish to be quoted, said that conglomerates like the Adani Group entering the hospital business in a city like Mumbai could be more to boost their social capital. “Because they’re also making a lot of social inroads in some of these markets," he said.

Gautam Adani’s hospital business strategy will essentially pit him against the country’s other large family or trust-owned conglomerates such as Reliance Industries Ltd, Tata Group, and Aditya Birla Group. Mukesh Ambani’s family runs a superspeciality hospital in Tardeo, Mumbai and healthcare facilities in other parts of India. Tata Group, through its philanthropic trusts, owns cancer care hospitals and a bunch of other medical research institutes across India. Aditya Birla Group, too, owns multispeciality hospitals in Maharashtra and other states. Reliance runs its healthcare business under Reliance Foundation, headed by Nita Ambani.

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Like Ambani, Gautam Adani, too, plans to run its healthcare business under a private family venture.

“Two years ago, as a gift to me on my 60th birthday, my family committed ₹60,000 crore towards improving healthcare, education and skill development," said Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group.

To be sure, over a decade ago, Adani Group, via Adani Foundation, had tied up with Gujarat government to run Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences. But that was merely a corporate social initiative.

In May 2022, Adani Enterprises Ltd, the flagship of Adani Group, announced incorporation of Adani Health Ventures but the actual hospital business will start after Monday’s partnership with Mayo Clinic.

Integrated healthcare

Mayo Clinic is a private American academic medical centre focused on integrated healthcare, education, and research. The Adani Group plans to offer medical care and education facilities under the partnership.

The medical college hospitals in the Adani Health City campuses will have a capacity for at least 150 undergraduate students every year, and more than 80 residents and 40 fellows, apart from step-down and transitional care facilities, and advanced research facilities, said the group.

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As per the partnership, Mayo Clinic will be providing its expertise to the Adani Health City campuses to ensure their clinical practices are similar to what Mayo Clinic follows globally, said the person quoted earlier.

Mayo Clinic will also offer expert guidance on the integration of technology, with a focus on digital and information technology and healthcare quality enhancement, said the Adani Group.

“I am confident that our partnership with Mayo Clinic, the world’s largest integrated not-for-profit medical group practice, will help to elevate healthcare standards in India, with a special emphasis on complex disease care and medical innovation," said Adani.