Piramal Enterprises Ltd has inked a pact to buy majority equity stake in Health SuperHiway Pvt Ltd, a privately held health information network and analytics firm owned by promoters of India's top hospital chain Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd, it said on Friday.
The firm runs its operations under the HealthHiway brand. It is a health information network that enables healthcare organisations to connect with each other as well as facilitates collaboration and information sharing. Its network enables data sharing and transactions between providers, employers, payers and patients. It has a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model and its key offerings include referral doctor solutions, patient health record and healthcare CRM.
Over 25 hospitals and 4 million patients are using its solutions. The firm has 14 employees. The business was incorporated in 2007 and is promoted by Indian Hospitals Corporation Ltd, a company owned by Prathap C Reddy and his family. Reddy is the promoter of Apollo Hospitals.
The investment would be made in two tranches over 12 months.
Piramal has invested Rs 60 lakh today in cash which will gives it a minority stake in HealthHiway. It will be investing up to an additional Rs 44.2 crore ($7 million) in 33 months, if HealthHiway achieves a set of specified growth milestones that are based on acquisition of hospital data partnerships.
Upon the second tranche of investment, Piramal will control a majority stake in the business and assume operational control.
Piramal Enterprises, which sold its domestic formulations business a few years ago to become a diversified firm with a large exposure to the financial services space, has forayed into global healthcare information business through its acquisition of Decision Resources Group in 2012. Later it acquired two more firms in the space—Abacus International and Relay Technology Management.
Ajay Piramal, chairman of Piramal Enterprises Ltd, said, “We are impressed by what HealthHiway has been able to build till now. This investment continues our process of building a global healthcare information business and will enhance our ability to serve India-based customers in the healthcare industry.”
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
