Healthcare-focused private equity (PE) firm InvAscent on Friday said it has invested ₹70 crore in Sharp Sight Group of Eye Hospitals.
The funds will be used for the New Delhi-based company’s expansion over the next three years into tier-2 cities, the eye care chain said in a press release.
Currently, the company runs seven hospitals in Delhi NCR and Jammu & Kashmir.
“Most of the patients with visual impairment are dependent on his/her immediate family on a day to day basis. With rapid urbanisation happening in tier 2 cities we intend to create job opportunities and provide quality training and employment generation in these cities,” said Deepshikha Sharma, chief executive at Sharp Sight.
Founded by Dr Samir Sud and Dr Kamal B Kapur in 1997, the eye care services provider has done far performed over 5 lakh surgeries and procedures for nearly 10 lakh patients. Besides its centres in India, the company also has two facilities in Tajikistan and Nigeria, according to its website.
This marks the fifth investment out of InvAscent’s third fund, India Life Sciences Fund III, which has raised has $250 million and began investing in November 2018, according to information not the fund’s website.
Its four other investments include Strides Consumer Pvt. Ltd, a consumer marketing company that sells over-the-counter (OTC) formulations in India, US and the Middle East; Ankura Hospitals, a woman and child care hospital chain; Intron Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd, an animal health products company; and Symbiotec Pharmalab Pvt. Ltd, a steroid and hormone active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) manufacturer.
Focused on pharmaceutical, healthcare, animal health and medtech industries, InvAscent typically picks significant minority stake in its portfolio firms and provides an average investment between $10 and $40 million for capacity expansion, introduction of new products and acquisitions.
Till date, the PE firm has deployed capital from its first two funds. Its first fund, which raised $100 million in 2006, made eight investments during the period 2007-2012 and has exited all of them. Its second fund, which raised nearly $150 million in 2014, has invested in 12 companies during 2013-2018.
