Incor Healthcare raises Rs 155 crore from Investec fund

Incor Healthcare operates multi-speciality hospitals under the brand OMNI Hospitals and GIGGLEs, involving a chain of six hospitals across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh with over 800-bed capacity.

Hyderabad-headquartered Incor Healthcare on April 6 announced that it raised Rs 155 crore from Emerging India Credit Opportunities Fund (EICOF-I), an Investec-managed SEBI-registered fund, along with co-investment from Investec Bank Plc.

Incor Healthcare operates multi-speciality hospitals under the brand OMNI Hospitals and GIGGLEs involving a chain of six hospitals across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh with over 800-bed capacity.

Existing private equity investor ASK Pravi, which had invested around Rs 60 crore in 2013 for a minority stake, is exiting the company wherein the promoters of Incor Healthcare will gain full control over the healthcare firm.

“It is a structured debt and we now bought over the full asset and own 100 percent,” Incor Group chairman and managing director Surya Pulagam told Moneycontrol. “We are buying back our stake from ASK Pravi by paying them.”

The healthcare service provider is planning to expand the bed count to 1,500-2,000 beds over the next 5-6 years, apart from plans to expand its presence to five Indian states.

In a statement, Incor Healthcare said it will “continue to exercise its expertise in acquiring and turning around sick hospitals into profitable centres.”

“There is renewed interest and growth momentum in this sector over the past two years,” said OMNI Hospital’s Group chief executive Dr Aloke Chandra Mullick, commenting on the investment by Investec. “We plan to grow our asset base and financials, so as to be ready for a public listing in three years.”

OMNI Hospital’s Group chief financial officer Ankit Shah said the funding from Investec helps Incor “to firm up its consolidation strategy by giving an exit to its outgoing private equity investor, ASK Pravi. The consolidation also portrays conviction of the Promoter in its core philosophy in healthcare and the growth strategy.”