Cloudnine to acquire Apollo’s maternity chain Cradle

Cloudnine Hospitals, one of India’s leading maternity and paediatric care chains, will acquire Apollo Cradle and Apollo Fertility, a network of maternity and infant care centres across India.

Under the transaction, Apollo Health and Lifestyle Limited (AHLL), will hold a 9.9% stake in the combined entity, making it the largest non-financial shareholder, and will also secure board representation through a nominee director, AHHL announced on Wednesday.

The deal values AHLL’s standalone mother-and-child and fertility verticals at around ₹1,550 crore through a mix of cash consideration and equity in the merged platform.

Cloudnine has signed an exclusivity agreement to acquire Apollo Cradle and the proposed transaction is expected to value the business at around ₹1,500 crore, ET first reported in October last year. Earlier in June last year, ET first reported that Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd (AHEL) had appointed a banker to scout for buyers for Apollo Cradle.

Under Apollo Cradle, AHLL operates a chain of 12 maternity centres in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi NCR and Punjab, while under Apollo Fertility, AHLL operates a chain of 20 fertility centres across India.

The combined entity will operate more than 55 centres across key Indian markets, bringing together the strengths of Apollo Cradle, Apollo Fertility and Cloudnine under a unified management structure.

The platform aims to enhance access to specialised maternity, fertility, neonatal and women’s healthcare services across diverse geographies and income segments, while leveraging one of the country’s largest pools of senior clinicians supported by global clinical governance standards, the company said.

“Together, we are India’s largest maternity network and potentially one of the world’s largest platforms dedicated to women and children’s health,” AHLL Chairperson Dr Sangita Reddy said, adding that Apollo would continue to expand its women’s healthcare capabilities across preventive, tertiary and specialised care segments.

Founded in 2006 by neonatologist Dr. R. Kishore Kumar along with co-founders Rohit M.A., M. Ramachandra, and Vidya Kumar, Bengaluru-based Cloudnine Hospitals is a popular brand in maternity and paediatric healthcare.

Operated under Kids Clinic India Ltd, Cloudnine currently has 40 centres (as of March 2025) across major Indian cities. Private equity firm True North, TPG NewQuest and Temasek together hold around 77% stake in Cloudnine. The promoter group owns roughly 10%, with the balance held through ESOPs.

Cloudnine had filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in 2022 to raise around ₹1,200 crore through an initial public offering (IPO). The plan, however, was deferred due to volatile market conditions.

India’s mother and childcare market, estimated at around ₹30,000 crore, is projected to grow at a 15% compound annual rate over the next few years.