GE Healthcare Technologies, the world's largest medical solutions provider, is in talks for acquiring BPL Ltd's medical devices business -- BPL Healthcare Business Group.
Sources said the $15-billion GE Healthcare wanted to have a medical and diagnostic solutions business in India as part of its expansion strategy in South Asia. They added that the acquisition could be through GE's wholly owned Indian subsidiary GE Medical Systems India.
BPL Healthcare Business Group has an annual turnover of over Rs 60 crore (Rs 600 million). It has nearly 90 per cent share in the ECG machines market and about 40 per cent share in the X-ray machine, cathlabs and low-end scanner segment.
When contacted, a GE executive said he would not comment on the issue as it was against company policy to respond to speculation. An e-mail query to GE Medical Systems India did not elicit any response.
Similar was the reaction of Mohana Murali, head, BPL Healthcare Business Group. He said, "It is the policy of BPL not to respond to market rumours and conjectures. At an appropriate time, should there be a matter of strategic significance concerning the company that requires communication with the public, the management will issue a press release."
GE, which is present at the high-end segment of the medical and diagnostic devices business, is targeting major hospitals in the metros and big cities.
BPL Healthcare, the leader in the Indian ECG market, offers better synergy for GE to establish itself in the domestic market, especially in the semi-urban and rural hospitals. In addition, BPL Healthcare exports to Saarc, West Asian and Far Eastern countries.
The regional market strategy of GE is to meet local market requirements, focusing mainly on designing, manufacturing and marketing of low-end products like X-ray and ECG machines.
GE is also planning to expand its research and development and engineering team in India, already the largest in the world outside the US. GE Healthcare has over 1,500 people dedicated to R&D.
BPL sources said the company's efforts in the past few months had been to provide medical solutions that were on a par with international standards and at the same time economically feasible in the domestic market.
Other than ECG machines, BPL's portfolio also includes a wide range of products in the gynaecology, imaging (ultrasound scanners) and homecare (nebulisers and oxygen concentrators) segments. The gynaecology product segment consists of foetal monitors and foetal dopplers.
BPL also offers electro-surgical generators for the operation theatre segment and is meeting the ICU and OT requirements of over 95 per cent hospitals and nursing homes in the country.
