Wockhardt hospitals to get re-branded as Fortis group

Fortis Healthcare on Monday said Wockhardt's 10 healthcare facilities it has acquired would be rebranded as Fortis Hospitals.

"Eventually, all the hospitals acquired by the Fortis group (from Wockhardt), including those under construction, would be rebranded as Fortis Healthcare Hospitals," Wockhardt Hospitals Group CEO Vishal Bali told a news agency.

Earlier in August, Fortis Healthcare acquired 10 hospitals from the Wockhardt for Rs 909 crore, making it the largest buyout deal in the Indian healthcare sector.

Under the deal, Fortis will take over eight operating hospitals and two that are under construction from Wockhardt, adding 1,902 beds to the company's hospital capacity.

As a part of the deal, Fortis had agreed to continue with the existing management, including Wockhardt hospitals CEO Vishal Bali.

Bali said it would take around nine months to complete all transactions and by this time some of the company's greenfield projects would also get completed.

"Once the transactions and other formalities are completed, these hospitals (acquired from Wockhardt) would get re-branded as Fortis Hospitals," Bali said.