Mid-market private equity firm Lighthouse Funds has led a Rs 143 crore (around $21 million) investment in Tynor Orthotics Pvt. Ltd, which makes artificial support devices for various body parts.
France-based manufacturer and distributor of medical devices Thuasne Participations, which had invested in Tynor in 2010, also put in money in this round.
Tynor founder PJ Singh said in a statement that the fundraise was in line with the company’s ‘3.0’ vision to move to the next level of growth.
Founded in 1993, Tynor sells more than 140 products such as body braces, supports, and fracture and walking aids. It has a distribution network in India and also exports to more than 40 countries.
“Tynor is aiming to achieve sales of over Rs 500 crore in the next three to four years,†said Singh.
The company reported total income of Rs 132 crore in the financial year 2016-17 compared to Rs 111.9 crore in the previous fiscal, according to VCCEdge, the research arm of News Corp VCCircle.
It had posted a net profit of Rs 8.44 crore in 2016-17, an increase over the Rs 6.85 crore it reported in 2015-16.
PE deals in the orthotics space are not common. In a major deal in the space, India Life Sciences Fund II, a healthcare fund managed by advisory firm InvAscent, had invested Rs 92 crore ($15 million) in New Delhi-based Comprehensive Prosthetics and Orthotics (CPO) in 2015.
Investors
US-based Lighthouse Funds was set up in 2001 by Mukund Krishnaswamy, a former executive at Lehman Brothers’ private equity unit, and W Sean Sovak. It has been investing in India since 2006.
The PE firm focuses on consumer-centric sectors such as healthcare, food and beverages, personal care, building materials, consumer durables, logistics and financial services.
Its portfolio firms include laminates maker Stylam Industries, quick service restaurant (QSR) chain Wow! Momo and value retailer V2 Retail.
Earlier this year, it marked the first close of its third India-dedicated fund at $150 million (Rs 974 crore), and was aiming to achieve the final close at $200 million by June.
VCCircle reported last month that Lighthouse had walked away with a bountiful harvest from its four-year-old investment in snacks maker Bikaji Foods International Ltd.
Before that, Lighthouse’s last exit was in February 2017 when it had sold its stake in Unibic Foods to Peepul Capital.
France's Thuasne, which was founded in 1847, has manufacturing units in 11 countries, including the US. It has more than 100 patents and employs more than 2,000 people worldwide.