Dr Lal PathLabs Pvt Ltd, which runs the second-largest medical diagnostics services chain in the country, has received approval from the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India to float an initial public offering (IPO).
The company had filed its draft red herring prospectus with SEBI in September. The IPO would make it one of the first prominent diagnostic chains to go public and may pave the way for others who have been waiting in the wings such as SRL and Thyrocare.
The offer comprises a fresh issue of shares and an offer for sale by its two private equity investors, TA Associates and WestBridge Capital, besides the promoters.
VCCircle was the first to report that the diagnostic firm is looking for an IPO and has fixed at least one banker to manage the issue.
Founded in 1949, Dr Lal PathLabs provides diagnostic and related healthcare tests and services in India. These include routine clinical laboratory tests such as blood chemistry analyses and blood cell counts, specialised testing services like histopathology analyses, genetic marker-based tests, viral and bacterial cultures and infectious disease tests, and screening for hypertension, heart disease and diabetes.
In 2014-15, the company collected and processed around 2.18 crore samples from about 9.9 million patients.
As of March 31, 2015, the firm had 163 clinical laboratories, 1,340 patient service centres and more than 5,000 pick-up points.
Kotak Mahindra Capital and Citigroup are managing the offer.
For more on the IPO, click here.