Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Wipro Chairman Azim Premji's family office and US private equity giant TPG Capital have invested a total of $300 million (about Rs 1,860 crore) in Manipal Education and Medical Group that is pre paring to expand core businesses.
PremjiInvest, which has a corpus of $1 billion, invested $125 million (about Rs 775 crore) in Manipal Global Education Services, returning to the company 18 months after it sold its earlier investment in it.
Separately, in Manipal Health Enterprises, TPG Capital, which manages assets of $65 billion globally, invested $150 million (about Rs 930 crore), while PremjiInvest contributed $25 million (Rs 155 crore).
"(PremjiInvest) has come in at the same value as TPG (in the health unit). We are happy to welcome them into the hospital venture as they have been great partners for us in the education services venture," said Ranjan Pai, managing director and chief executive of Manipal Education and Medical Group.
PremjiInvest and Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy's investment arm, Catamaran Ventures, in July 2013 sold their shares in the education unit back to the promoters of Manipal Global, making an estimated profit of 15-18% on the Rs 200 crore each of them had invested three years before. It is rare, especially in India, for a private equity investor to return to participate in a venture it had exited.
The latest investment in Manipal Group's education unit is one of the largest transactions for PremjiInvest, which counts companies such as online marketplace Snapdeal and HDFC Standard Life Insurance in its portfolio.
When contacted by ET, TPG Capital declined to comment on the transaction, while PremjiInvest also did not respond to a detailed email questionnaire.
Manipal Global operates campuses across the globe, including in the Caribbean, Malaysia and Nepal, and has been looking to expand its presence over the next few years.
Manipal Health, which operates 11 hospitals in 20 countries, too, has been seeking funds to expand both within India and overseas. In a recent interview, Manipal Health chief executive Ajay Bakshi said the company is expected to spend Rs 2,500 crore over the next four to five years to triple its bed strength to 7,000. It currently owns about 2,000 beds and manages an additional 3,000 beds.
"We are well-funded as of now, but if there is a requirement for more funds, both TPG and India Value Fund Advisors (IVFA - an existing investor,) have indicated an interest to put in more capital. But I don't think we will need more funds this year," Pai said.
Aditya Parekh-founded boutique asset management firm Faering Capital and Kotak Private Equity have also backed Manipal Health.
India's healthcare and life sciences sector emerged second in a PricewaterhouseCoopers report in terms of investment value in the September-ended quarter, raising $292 million (Rs 1,810 crore) across 11 deals, up from investments worth $196 million (Rs 1,215 crore) from 16 deals a year earlier.
The education sector raised $176 million (Rs 1,091 crore) across four deals, a multi-fold jump from the previous third quarter. The information technology and IT-enabled services sector, including e-commerce, topped the report with investments worth $1.64 billion.
Manipal Group's healthcare business operates and manages super-speciality hospitals as well as rural maternity and child welfare homes, in addition to research and development related to medical technologies and treatments. The group, founded in 1953, has also diversified into facilities management and stem cell research.
economictimes.indiatimes.com
