Agnivesh Agarwal, son of the Vedanta Group’s founder-chairman, Anil Agarwal, has taken a controlling stake in Chennai-based Primex Healthcare. Primex operates healthcare centres across this city. This will be the first investment by Agarwal Jr in his personal capacity.
While declining to comment on the value of the deal, Anand Mahadevan, founder & CEO, Primex Group, said “he (Agnivesh) will come as a strategic investor and join the company as executive director”. Agarwal said India had a fragmented diagnostics services market, with many local players and a few regional/national ones. “We were impressed with Primex Healthcare’s vision of providing low-cost healthcare services, which we wish to promote. We believe we will be jointly able to establish a strong presence in the healthcare sector with steadfast commitment to quality and cost efficiency, delivering value to the society,” he added.
Vedanta Group watchers are intrigued by this bet. Agnivesh, a commerce graduate from Mumbai’s Sydenham College, has been on the board the group’s flagship businesses since 2005. He is currently chairman of Hindustan Zinc. He is also on the board of Malco, Sterlite Iron and Steel Company, Sterlite Infrastruc-ture Pvt. Ltd, Agarwal Galvanizing Pvt Ltd and Sterlite Infrastructure Holdings Pvt Ltd.
According to sources, he also owns around 50 per cent of Volcan Investments, the Vedanta Group’s holding company.
The rest is held by Anil Agarwal and his father, Dwarka Prasad Agarwal.
It will also be additional revenue for Primex Healthcare, since it will get access to Vedanta Foundation, which is working with the government on child care, education and other healthcare initiatives, Mahadevan said.
Adding: “We can also use Vedanta’s domestic and global network to expand our presence. Investment by Agarwal is not necessarily an investment for growth, it’s more for a collaboration. Besides, by having Agarwal on the board, we can attract more investors.”
As part of the expansion, Primex Group plans to double its healthcare centres to over 100 in the next 12-24 months. these will be a mix of both partner-driven centres and company-owned healthcare facilities.
“Primex is also planning to raise around $5 million from investors, including private equity/venture capital firms, for the proposed investment by Primex Scans & Labs,” said Mahadevan.
Primex now operates five centres in Chennai, while the Group’s other company, Primex Scans & Labs, has 50-plus centres across the state, which can be utilised by Primex Healthcare. It is an asset-light and partner-driven model. The group reported revenue of around Rs 4.5 crore last year.
Kalpathi Investments, which invested into the company in 2010, and the promoter family of Primex Group (that includes Anand Mahadevan, the founder CEO of Primex), will now hold 15 per cent each in Primex Healthcare.
Source: Business Standard