Piramal’s IndiaVenture Adviors to raise $185m fund
IndiaVenture Advisors, the PE arm of Indian pharmaceuticals company Piramal Enterprises, plans to raise a fund of up to INR10 billion ($185 million) that will target healthcare and education.
The move comes as private equity interest in Indian healthcare - from hospital services to medical devices - healthcare sector is at an all-time high, with more than $1 billion invested in the sector this year, according to AVCJ Research.This compares to $333 million in 2011 and $478 million in 2010.
"It's a defensive sector and is recession-proof," A.K. Purwar, chairman of IndiaVenture, told Reuters. "On top of that, we have our parent group's strength to leverage and do better value addition." Formal marketing of the fund is expected to begin imminently, with international investors expected to account for 20% of the corpus.
More than half the total investment in healthcare in 2012 has focused on hospitals and healthcare centers, notably Advent International's $105 million commitment to CARE Hospitals, Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) acquisition of a minority stake in eye-care specialist Vasan Healthcare for $100 million, and Olympus Capital's $100 million investment in DM Healthcare.
Medical equipment has seen $158 million in investment, while $245 million has gone into biotech and pharmaceuticals. Activity in the education services sector has been more muted, with venture capital and private equity firms completing deals worth $23 million, down considerably on the $114 million seen in 2011.
Piramal Enterprises, which is run by Ajay Piramal, sold its India formulations business to Abbott Laboratories for $3.7 billion in 2010.
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