Medicover sells hospital business in India to KKR funds for $1.39 billion

JSE-listed company Life Healthcare has received support from the Competition Commission to acquire property where its Bedford Gardens and Wingwood Place hospitals are located, from the property group Redefine.

The Commission ruled that it is unlikely that this transaction will substantially restrict or prevent competition, or raise significant public interest concerns, and recommended that the Competition Tribunal approve the transaction without any conditions.

As part of this deal, the Life Healthcare group, which has a market capitalization of R17.3 billion on the local stock exchange, will acquire the property of Life Bedford Gardens hospital, which has 144 beds, as well as the two-story commercial office building Wingwood Place from Redefine. Although Redefine owns the Bedfordview properties, they are already leased and operated by Life Healthcare.

The acquisition will allow the inclusion of the Bedford Gardens hospital property into the group that manages 63 medical facilities in seven provinces, boasting a network of 3000 specialists and healthcare workers who treat approximately 600,000 inpatients annually.

The proposed acquisition comes amid the ongoing expansion and portfolio optimization of Life Healthcare. In its latest interim results, the group reported revenue of R12.4 billion for the six months ended March and stated investments in infrastructure while advancing its asset optimization program.

Expansion Plans

Life Healthcare is also continuing to grow its hospital network. During the 2026 financial year, the group plans to add 87 acute care beds, 64 acute rehabilitation beds, as well as a cardiac catheterization laboratory and a vascular laboratory.

Construction of the new Life Paarl Valley hospital with 140 beds is also underway and is expected to be completed during the 2027 financial year.

Redefine is one of South Africa's largest real estate investment trusts, possessing a diversified property portfolio worth over R100 billion, which includes retail, office, and industrial real estate in South Africa, as well as logistics and retail assets in Poland.

Previously, the Bedford Gardens hospital property was part of Redefine's acquisition of the Fountainhead Property Trust portfolio in 2015 for R14 billion. Neither Redefine nor Life Healthcare disclosed the value of the current transaction. The transaction is currently awaiting approval from the Competition Tribunal.

An event in the form of a job fair was held in the capital, intended for graduates of higher education institutions. About 200 employers participated, including representatives of state and private organizations, commercial banks, and relevant departments. More than 500 graduates also attended the fair.

JLL Business Services (JBS), the integrated operational support platform for the global real estate services firm JLL, has launched a Global Capability Center (GCC) spanning 120,000 square feet in Hyderabad's Financial District.

This facility occupies two floors in the Prestige Sky Tech building in Hyderabad's Financial District and marks the second JBS center in India after Gurugram. The center is planned to grow to 1,600 employees over the next two years.

Matthew Rhys, Director of JBS Global Service Centers, noted that the selection of Hyderabad was strategic. As JBS operations cover six countries and employ over 6,500 people, the company has evolved into a strategic operational powerhouse for JLL. He emphasized that optimizing talent, processes, and location is fundamental to JLL's Accelerate 2030 strategy. By establishing its GCC in one of India's largest talent markets, they bring together top specialists with standardized, AI-supported processes and workflows.

As an integrated JLL center, JBS provides critical services, including advanced analytics, technology solutions, and consulting capabilities across finance, human resources, project management, lease administration, and business process optimization, operating in six countries.

The inauguration of this facility took place on Thursday, initiated by Duddilla Sridhar Babu, Minister of Information Technology, Electronics, Communications, Industry, and Trade, and Legislative Affairs of the Government of Telangana.

Babu stated that JLL has served as a benchmark for global companies when selecting suitable investment destinations for many years. He added that today, this benchmark points to Hyderabad for compelling reasons. In the last 20 months, Telangana has approved around 150 GCCs, creating over 150,000 high-tech jobs.

The Minister also observed that while global tech companies are restructuring and consolidating their traditional IT operations, Hyderabad continues to demonstrate that innovative GCCs are a powerful driver for investment, sustainability, and the creation of high-value jobs.

According to JLL data, Hyderabad is becoming a hub for GCCs in India due to its strong talent base, world-class infrastructure, and favorable business ecosystem. The city accounted for 16 percent of the total GCC leasing activity in the country from 2024 to mid-2026. Furthermore, GCCs constituted 42 percent of all office space leasing activity in Hyderabad.

The leading sectors in this area are financial services and insurance, which account for over a third of GCC activity (34.5 percent). Technology firms contributed 23.2 percent, while healthcare and biotechnology companies contributed 17 percent, and engineering R&D operations accounted for 12.1 percent.

Direj Popli, Director of JBS Global Service Center in India, reported that Hyderabad provides access to India's pool of STEM specialists, with over 2.5 million graduates entering annually. Moreover, the city excels in specialized, high value-added sectors such as financial services, healthcare, biotechnology, and semiconductors, alongside an innovative ecosystem known for its globally quality opportunities.