OrbiMed and Ascent Capital-backed tertiary healthcare services chain Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) has snapped two small under-construction hospitals in Kerala and is looking to double its bed capacity by FY16.
The company, which secured funding of Rs 170 crore from OrbiMed and Ascent Capital in 2012, acquired hospitals in Kottayam and Kollam as per a PTI report. The report said the two hospitals will be operational within four months and make KIMS a 1,000-bed hospital chain.
VCCircle contacted the firm for more details on the transaction and we will update the news when we get a response.
The bigger plan is to invest around Rs 500 crore to double the capacity to 2,000 beds in two-three years, as per the report which quoted the firm’s managing director MI Sahadulla. He said the plan is to start another hospital in Thiruvananthapuram and one or two hospitals in northern Kerala. Besides, the hospital chain plans to acquire a hospital in Kozhikode and set up wellness centres, he said.
Much of this expansion will happen in Kerala, though some centres will come up in other states.
KIMS started raising capital for expansion in 2009 when it raised $12.36 million from Milestone Religare Investment Advisors Pvt Ltd. In its second round to raise capital, the company secured investment from OrbiMed and Ascent Capital.
The healthcare service industry is largely fragmented with a few pan-India hospital chains such as Fortis and Apollo. Many other relatively smaller healthcare services chains have been raising capital to expand recently.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
