Chinese business conglomerate Fosun International is in discussions to buy Indian pathology and radiology company Medall Healthcare Pvt. Ltd, a report in The Economic Times stated, citing people privy to the development.
Fosun is in negotiations with the chain’s investors, private equity firms Siguler Guff and Peepul Capital. It has completed the due diligence process for the transaction and will likely make an offer over the next few weeks, the report stated.
In August last year, Constellation Alpha, a Nasdaq-listed acquisition vehicle led by former ICICI Venture executive Rajiv Shukla, had struck a deal to acquire Medall for an enterprise value of Rs 1,400 crore (around $212 million), but the transaction fell through in December 2018.
Fosun will make its offer at a discounted rate than that presented by Constellation Alpha, ET reported.
Harsha Bhogle invests in fintech startup
Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle invested an undisclosed amount in Gurugram-based fintech startup Chqbook, according to a press statement.
Operated by Nineroot Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Chqbook had previously raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Startup Buddy and some individual investors in October 2017. The startup was founded by Vipul Shamra and Rajat Kumar in June 2016.
The startup offers a curated marketplace for personalised financial services and allows customers to compare and get home and personal loans as well as credit cards. It brings banks and non-bank lenders as well as distributors and customers onto a single platform.
Digital lender Happy raises fresh funding
Digital lending startup Happy has secured $20 million (around Rs 139 crore at current exchange rates) in a mix of equity and debt from investors in India and the US as well as from financial institutions, the startup said in a statement.
Happy received the debt portion of its capital from non-banking finance company DMI Finance, the statement said.
The startup will use the capital to grow its loan portfolio and develop its artificial intelligence-powered lending platform, it added.
Co-founder Gautam Ivatury in the statement said that the startup will also explore using blockchain in its credit underwriting process.
Happy was founded in 2016 by Manish Khera, the former managing director and chief executive of Airtel Payments Bank, Shweta Apramey, an investor and a former executive at Airtel Payments Bank and Ivatury, an entrepreneur.
Happy provides loans to small and medium businesses and claims to have disbursed over 32,000 loans to more than 80 different kinds of businesses.