Hearing Solutions Pvt Ltd, which runs hearing care chain Hearzap, has raised $6 million (Rs 50 crore) in an undisclosed funding round from 360 One Asset Management Ltd’s healthcare and lifesciences-focused private equity fund.
Hyderabad-based Hearzap will deploy the fresh proceeds to scale up its operations across India over the next three years, it said in a statement.
Veda Corporate Advisors was the exclusive financial advisor on the said transaction.
Hearzap offers hearing care solutions and has developed a digital suite of audiology applications for remote diagnosis and virtual shopping of hearing care devices. It also has around 90 audiology clinics-cum-hearing experience stores across 7 states and a team of 100 audiologists.
"The rise in hearing health issues has driven Hearzap to pioneer tech-based solutions that cater to the diverse needs of those affected. With the financial and strategic backing of 360 One and its expertise in the healthcare sector, Hearzap is poised to introduce technology and services that will impact the approach to this concern" said Selvaraj Rajapandian, founder and managing director, Hearzap.
To be sure, this is the first investment from 360 One’s healthcare and lifesciences-focused PE fund.
“Hearing Health is an attractive and growing market. Hearzap has been a pioneer in offering hearing health solutions in India and is now leveraging technology to offer these products and services at scale,” Nidhi Ghuman, senior executive vice president, 360 One Asset Management Ltd.
360 ONE Asset Management, part of 360 ONE, is an alternate asset management firm with overall alternate assets and public market mandates of more than $7 billion. 360 One Private Equity (PE) is a private equity business with assets under management (AUM) of approximately $2.5 billion. The firm has backed startups across sectors like healthcare, technology, financial services and consumer industries.
In August, the firm announced its move to chart a course towards a sector-focused private equity fund strategy. Consequently, the firm also announced the launch of its healthcare fund. However, the specifics such as the fund size, were not disclosed.
