Havells gains over 1% on reports to invest in healthcare business

NEW DELHI: Havells India Ltd surged over 1 per cent in morning trade on Wednesday in a weak market, following reports that QRG Enterprises, the promoter group of of the company plans to diversify into healthcare.

The group is planning to set up a chain of hospitals at an investment of about Rs 1,000 crore over the next five years.

At 11:00 a.m.; Havells was trading 1.3 per cent higher at Rs 723.70. It hit a low of Rs 707 and a high of Rs 725 in trade today.

"We aim to reach a target of 1,200 beds in the next five years," Havells Joint Managing Director Anil Rai Gupta told ET. Saying that the Havells brand stands for trust, he hopes to leverage his existing business for the new venture.

The group has been running a tertiary hospital in Faridabad since 2007 and now plans to expand in the sector under the 'QRG' brand. This could mean a chain of four to six multi-specialty hospitals within the next few years, said the ET report.

The company plans to use a mix of debt and internal accruals to finance its expansion.