New York-based private equity player Warburg Pincus, through its Dutch affiliate South Elm Investments B.V., has signed a definitive agreement to invest approximately $210 million (~ Rs 1,500 crore) for a minority stake in Micro Life Sciences Private Limited, parent organization of Meril group of companies.
VCCircle reported the development on Sunday.
The transaction is awaiting CCI approval, the company said in an announcement on Tuesday. According to people close to the development, company was valued approximately at $1.8 billion.
SEI is an investment holding company established in the Netherlands and its shareholders are certain private equity funds managed by Warburg Pincus LLC.
Founded by the Bilakhia family, Meril is a fast-growing medical devices company that designs, manufactures and distributes clinically relevant and state-of-the-art medical devices, Warburg Pincus said in the statement.
Narendra Ostawal, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus India, said: “We are delighted to partner with Meril in their quest to build an innovation-led provider of medical products and solutions that are developed and made in India to serve the global market. We are excited by Meril’s compelling growth story and believe the company stands to benefit from the secular tailwinds of healthcare in India, realizing the potential of a strong pipeline of market-defining products and expansion into global markets.”
Micro Life Sciences was established in 2006 in Vapi in Gujarat as part of Bilakhia Holdings Pvt. Ltd and its promoters, part of the Bilakhia Group which is present in diversified sectors including key areas of education, life sciences and medical technology.
Meril is an India-based global MedTech platform dedicated to the innovation, design and development of novel, clinically relevant and state-of-the-art devices. Meril offers a diversified product portfolio with over 100 technologies in 5 therapy areas – cardiovascular including structural heart devices, orthopedic implants, endo-surgery, surgical robotics & in-vitro diagnostics. The company currently has approximately 4000 employees and has business in over 100 countries. The group also provides R&D facilities, manufacturing, distribution and commitment to invest in educational and training programs via Meril Academy.
Through its subsidiaries, Micro Life Sciences has also engaged in the B2C (business-to-consumer) sale of certain specialized medical devices (such as surgical robots and ultrasonic energy devices) to hospitals and has research and development (R&D) facilities for in-vitro diagnostic, orthopaedic, endo-surgery and cardiovascular solutions.
For FY21, the company’s net loss widened marginally at ₹5.2 crore on a total income of ₹2.3 crore as compared with a net loss of ₹3.7 crore on a total income of ₹4.4 crore.
Meanwhile, Warburg Pincus has marked its second potential investment in India this year, after it received approval to pick up a majority stake in automobile parts maker Imperial Auto Industries.
Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 20 private equity funds and 2 real estate funds, which have invested more than $100 billion in over 1000 companies in more than 40 countries. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore.
As of December end 2021, it managed private equity assets under management (AUM) worth over $73 billion with an active portfolio of more than 235 companies across sectors, stages and geographies.