Serial entrepreneur GSK Velu-run Maxivision Super Specialty Eye Hospitals has mandated an investment bank to raise about Rs 200 crore (around $30 million), two persons privy to the development told VCCircle.
The deal will have a small primary component and largely a secondary component that will give exit to its existing private equity investors TVS Capital Funds Ltd and ePlanet Capital, one of the persons cited above said. Investment bank Veda Corp Advisors has been engaged to scout for prospective investors, another person added.
The Mint first reported about the development. Email queries sent to Velu, TVS Capital, ePlanet Capital and Veda Corp Advisors did not elicit any response till the time of filing this report.
In 2011, Velu-owned Medfort Hospitals acquired Hyderabad-based eye care chain Maxivision Eye Hospitals and rebranded eye care initiatives of Medfort under Maxivision. The erstwhile Maxivision Eye Hospitals was founded in 1996 by ophthalmologist Kasu Prasad Reddy.
Currently, Maxivision Super Specialty Eye Hospitals has a network of 12 super specialty eye hospitals in six cities, according to its website.
In November 2010, Medfort had raised Rs 60 crore from TVS Capital and ePlanet Capital. While TVS Capital had invested nearly Rs 50 crore for a significant minority stake, the remaining funds came from ePlanet Capital. ePlanet Capital was earlier known as ePlanet Ventures.
According to a report by ratings, research and advisory services firm CRISIL, India’s eye-care treatment market was worth around $2 billion in 2014 and is expected to grow to $3 billion by 2020. The segment has attracted investors and has provided healthy returns for them too.
Early this year, Evolvence India Life Sciences Fund got an exit after Hong Kong-based private equity firm ADV Partners (ADV) invested around $45 million (around Rs 305.7 crore) in Chennai-based healthcare company Dr Agarwal's Healthcare Ltd.
Evolvence India Life Sciences Fund, which is managed by InvAscent, had acquired a minority stake in Dr Agarwal's for Rs 60 crore ($12.5 million) in 2012.
In a sign of further maturity of the industry, New Delhi-based eye care chain Centre for Sight has received approval from market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to float an initial public offering (IPO).
The recent investment in the eye care space was in Disha Medical Services Pvt Ltd, an eye-care chain focused on providing affordable treatment in underserved markets under the brand Drishti, by former Infosys CEO Nandan Nilekani.
Other eye care chains which have attracted PE funding include Vasan Healthcare, which counts Sequoia as one of its investors, and Eye-Q Vision Pvt. Ltd, which is backed by International Finance Corp, Helion Venture Partners and Nexus Venture Partners.
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