Who is Devi Shetty? Narayana Health founder set to enter UK market in Rs 2200 crore deal
The deal involves Narayana Hrudayalaya UK acquiring 60,001 shares representing 100% stake for Rs 363479 per share. As part of the agreement, both companies aim to provide accessible private healthcare to those who cannot afford it, bridging the gap between affordability and accessibility.
Narayana Health, founded by billionaire cardiac surgeon Devi Shetty, is acquiring Practice Plus Group Hospitals in the UK for Rs 2,200 million, marking its entry into the UK market. The deal involves Narayana Hrudayalaya UK acquiring 60,001 shares representing 100% stake for Rs 363479 per share. As part of the agreement, both companies aim to provide accessible private healthcare to those who cannot afford it, bridging the gap between affordability and accessibility.
“Like Narayana Health, Practice Plus Group recognizes that the majority of patients have difficulty accessing healthcare, with only a small minority able to afford expensive private healthcare. We are both working to meet the demands of those caught in the middle and provide a more accessible private healthcare option,” Shetty, chairman of Narayana Health, said in a statement. he said.
Who is Devi Shetty?
Born on May 8, 1953, in Kinnigoli, India, Devi Shetty is a renowned Indian heart surgeon and founder of Narayana Health. He pioneered high-quality, affordable healthcare through Narayana Health. He successfully performed India’s first neonatal heart surgery in 1992 and has performed over 100,000 heart surgeries throughout his career.
He also founded the Narayana Hrudayalaya (now Narayana Health) hospital in Bangalore in 2001, which has expanded to more than 21 medical centers across India and an international facility in the Cayman Islands. He was honored with the Padma Shri (2004) and Padma Bhushan (2012) awards and also appeared in the Netflix documentary series “The Surgeon’s Cut” in 2020. He served as Mother Teresa’s personal physician and designed the “Yeshasvini” micro-health insurance scheme for poor farmers.
Narayana Health and Practice Plus Group
Narayana Health operates 18 hospitals with more than 5,200 beds in India and one hospital with 169 beds in the Cayman Islands. The company’s revenue rose 12% to ₹54.8 billion in the year ending March 2025. With the acquisition, Narayana Health will become one of India’s top three healthcare providers in terms of revenue. Meanwhile, Practice Plus Group, a UK-based healthcare provider, generated revenue of £229 million in the year ending September 2024, of which 93% came from NHS patients, making it the fourth largest NHS provider. The company expects revenue to reach £250 million this year. It operates 10 hospitals and surgery centers with 330 beds and employs 2,500 staff.
