In a ‘big ticket’ investment, NephroPlus, the fast growing dialysis service provider, has got a fresh infusion of about $45 million(₹323 crore) from Investcorp, the Bahrain based, Global alternative asset management company.
This is the biggest investment in the Hyderabad based start-up founded about a decade ago and which has expanded its presence to 20 states with 196 centres.
Earlier investors include: venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners, SeaLink Capital and International Financial Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s investment arm.
According to Vikram Vuppula, Founder and CEO, the company had firmed up a diversification plan within the country and overseas markets in West Asia and South East Asia.
The proceeds of the latest round of investment will go into the expansion plans as well as the exit of one of the original three investors –SeaLink Capital Partners of Herman Hajarnavis– which came in around three years ago with ₹90 crore investment.
“We will use the funds to grow our India business through select acquisitions as well as expansion of centres and fresh beginnings in overseas markets in Middle East and South East Asia”, Vikram told BusinessLine .
The company will be setting up joint ventures and signing operations and maintenance contracts too, he added.
NephroPlus, logged a turnover of Rs 200 crore during 2018-19 and hopes to end the current fiscal at around Rs 270 crore, said Vikram.
Started by Vikram, an ex McKinsey and Kamal Shah, who was personally battling kidney disease in 2010 NephroPlus has reached an impressive dialysis network in around 125 locations, proving cost effective and ease of use dialysis to patients.
In the healthcare sector in Hyderabad, the deal has raised waves and could be a big boost to the ecosystem and investment climate, especially for startup’s and entrepreneurs, especially with Hyderabad boasting of T Hub, ICICI Knowledge Park, Genome Valley and a rapidly growing culture of entrepreneurship.
“It’s been a company that we’ve been following from the sidelines for some time now…In terms of breadth and width of delivery, NephroPlus has, possibly, the largest reach in India…We think, given our experience in healthcare globally, there are a lot of areas where we can add value,” Gaurav Sharma, co-head of private equity at Investcorp India, said in a reported statement.