Dr Lal PathLabs Pvt Ltd, which runs the second-largest medical diagnostics services chain in the country, is all set to hit the capital markets with its initial public offering (IPO) next week.
The firm had filed its draft red herring prospectus with the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India to float the IPO in September and received approval earlier this month.
The offer comprises an offer for sale by its two private equity investors, TA Associates and WestBridge Capital, besides the promoters. They will collectively sell 11.6 million shares, or a 14.1 per cent stake, in the firm.
The IPO would make it one of the first prominent diagnostics chains to go public and may pave the way for others who have been waiting in the wings such as SRL and Thyrocare.
VCCircle was the first to report that the diagnostics firm was looking for an IPO and had named at least one banker to manage the issue.
Founded in 1949, Dr Lal PathLabs provides diagnostic and related healthcare tests and services. 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 diseases 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.
