International Finance Corporation (IFC) and IFC Asset Management Company have invested ₹450 crore in Apollo Health and Lifestyle Ltd (AHLL), an arm of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd.
“Through this equity investment we endeavour to continue Apollo Group's legacy of setting industry benchmarks & contributing to elevate the standard of healthcare to the next level,’’ Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals, told newspersons at a press conference held here on Thursday.
The proceeds of the investment will fuel AHLL’s expansion plans to reach 20 million patients each year by 2020, she said, adding that going forward, AHLL will continue to expand through both organic and in-organic means.
At present, AHLL operates a range of formats that fill the space between home care and tertiary care hospitals. It runs multispecialty clinics (Apollo Clinics), Diabetes Clinics (Apollo Sugar), Diagnostics (Apollo Diagnostics), Dental centres (Apollo White), Dialysis, Women & Children hospitals (Apollo Cradle), Fertility centres (Apollo Fertility) and Surgical Centres (Apollo Spectra) across India, with a presence in 17 States and having over 400 customer touch points.
Commenting on the investment by IFC, Neeraj Garg, CEO - AHLL, said: “This investment is probably the largest-ever private equity growth capital investment in the primary healthcare segment in India.’’
“We currently serve over 10,000 customers daily, and with this next round of expansion, we shall be able to extend the Apollo brand of clinical expertise and ‘tender loving care’ to many more people in the cities we serve and also extend to new cities,” he added.
According to Chris McCahan, IFC Chief Investment Officer – Global Health, healthcare needs in India are huge, including in terms of adequate healthcare infrastructure and availability of skilled healthcare professionals.