Ankurit Capital, an alternative investment fund, on Monday said it has picked a 7.71% stake in nutraceutical and cosmeceutical products company, Deccan Healthcare Ltd.
As part of the transaction, Deccan Healthcare has allotted 13.3 lakh equity shares at Rs 37.6 per share, it said in a statement.
Deccan Healthcare will use the fresh capital for its digital transformation as it seeks to become a dominant player in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) segment. The company also plans to boost its offline presence and expand into international markets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the US.
"We are currently exploring placing our products in 600 retail stores in the US which is the largest market in our segment," said Minto Purshotam Gupta, chairman and managing director, Deccan Healthcare, in the statement.
Founded in 1996, Deccan Healthcare is engaged in research and development and manufacturing of nutraceutical and cosmeceutical products. Currently, it has over 200 products to help prevent and minimise the risk of more than 300 nutrient deficiency diseases, it said.
Ntasha, co-founder and managing partner of Ankurit, noted that the global market for fighting senescence - the process of deterioration with age - that Deccan Healthcare is engaged in, is estimated to be over $270 billion.
"When someone hits 30, the aging process ramps up with each day. The demographics of the Indian consumer offers a multi-billion opportunity for this category," she added.
Ankurit Capital is registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). It invests across segments including healthtech, fintech, social media, and supply chain, the statement said.
Recent venture capital and private equity deals in the broader nutraceuticals segment include IIFL Asset Management's acquisition of a minority stake for an undisclosed sum in TA Associates-backed OmniActive Health Technologies.
Earlier in January, nutraceutical platform Power Gummies secured $6 million (around Rs 44 crore) in a Series A funding round led by 9Unicorns, along with participation from investors.
