True North invests $200m in India hospital chain
Indian private equity firm True North - formerly known as India Value Fund Advisors (IVFA) - has invested $200 million in domestic hospital chain Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS).
The investment provides an exit for the company’s previous private equity backers Ascent Capital and OrbiMed Advisors, who paid INR1.7 billion ($34 million) in 2012 for an undisclosed stake. True North will take both GPs’ positions along with freshly issued shares for a total holding of about 40%. KIMS will use the new capital to fund its growth plans across India and the Middle East.
Given the size of True North's current fund - the firm closed its fifth vehicle in 2015 at the hard cap of $700 million - the KIMS investment would likely feature LP co-investors.
Founded in 2002, KIMS is present in India and in five countries in the Middle East. Its international hospital network employs over 6000 healthcare providers including 600 doctors. Following the new investment, the current management team will remain in place.
“We believe that private equity has a key role in funding Indian healthcare services to address the sector’s supply-demand gap,” said True North Managing Director Satish Chander in a statement. “We have known Dr. M.I. Sahadulla and his team for several years and we truly admire their pursuit to build a healthcare service enterprise of the highest caliber.”
IVFA rebranded as True North earlier this year, which managing partner Vishal Nevatia attributed to a desire to more accurately reflect the GP’s aspirations. The firm mainly invests in four key sectors of healthcare, financial services, consumer products and services and IT products and services, though it also reserves capital for investments in other promising sectors in hopes of building experience there.
True North has a significant presence in India’s healthcare sector, with stakes in hospital chains Manipal Hospitals, Cloudnine Hospitals and Aster DM Healthcare – which it plans to exit in the upcoming IPO – along with medical technology manufacturer Trivitron Healthcare.
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