FGPI gives $41m cash boost to Aptuit Laurus
Fidelity Growth Partners India (FGPI), the India-focused the private equity arm of Fidelity Worldwide Investment, has invested INR2 billion ($40.6 million) in pharma company Aptuit Laurus.
Chava Satyanarayana, the founder and CEO of the business, which is based in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, also invested as part of the round. "We are glad to partner with FGPI in this phase of our growth, where, we will seek to continue the thrust on innovation and manufacturing excellence in offering cost-effective products and services," he commented.
Aptuit Laurus is a manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients for anti-retroviral (HIV-AIDS), oncological and nutraceutical products.
Raj Dugar, the senior managing director who led the deal on behalf of FGPI, said that the company's innovative approach to its product pipeline of "difficult-to-make molecules" will help it build a defensible business over the long term.
Investment into India's healthcare sector - which is thought to be worth $65 billion - continues apace, involving assets ranging from hospital chains to medical device manufacturers.
In January, Olympus Capital Asia Investments paid more than INR5 billion ($100 million) for a minority stake in health services provider DM Healthcare, in a deal which enabled existing investor India Value Fund to exit the company. One month earlier, Bessemer Venture Partners funneled INR2 billion into Nephroplus, a Hyderabad-based chain of kidney care and dialysis clinics.
There has also been considerable activity surrounding Max Healthcare, which sold a 26% stake to South Africa's Life Healthcare for INR5.16 billion in October. Earlier in the year, Warburg Pincus sold its 16.37% interest in the business to parent company Max India for INR1.4 billion. Goldman Sachs subsequently invested about $59 million in Max India, taking its stake in the company to nearly 16%.
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