Manipal Hospitals, a multispeciality hospital, agreed to acquire a 87% stake in Medica Synergie, a medical group, from Sheares Healthcare, a healthcare chain operator, for $168m. With the acquisition of Medica -- which has hospitals in eastern Indian cities like Kolkata, Siliguri and Ranchi -- Manipal Hospitals said it expects to treat 7m patients annually and will operate across 37 hospitals in 14 states, increasing its hospital bed count from over 9.5k to more than 10.5k. Manipal Hospitals aims to expand its footprint in eastern India.