International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector investment arm of the World Bank, may invest up to $12.1 million (Rs 76.8 crore) to pick an undisclosed equity stake in Mohali-based Ivy Health and Life Sciences Pvt Ltd, a multi-specialty hospital cum cancer research chain operating under Ivy Hospital banner.
This would be used to part-fund Ivy's $25.8 million green-field expansion programme, IFC said.
Ivy Hospital, started by Gurtej Singh and his radiologist wife Kanwaldeep Kaur, is a regional private hospital chain with 670 operating beds and a bed capacity of over 770 beds in Punjab as of April 2015. The company’s flagship hospital is in Mohali and has 200 operational beds.
It also operates four multi-specialty hospitals in Nawanshahr, Khanna, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar in the state with over 100 beds each. Ivy is building two hospitals in Bhatinda and Jalandhar.
The firm intends to use the money to increase the number of operational beds by 550 besides reducing debt on its books.
The remaining capital ($13.7 million) would be raised from other investors and debt.
Two years ago, Ivy raised $12.09 million (Rs 70 crore) from Germany's development finance institution DEG.
The company's promoter had told VCCircle two years ago that the firm will look at an asset light expansion strategy and would look to hit the road by mid-2014.
For IFC, one of the most active private investors in India, this comes as another investment in the healthcare sector.
It has previously backed ventures such as Fortis Healthcare (and its diagnostics chain SRL), eyecare chain Eye-Q Vision and dialysis chain NephroPlus.