An ICICI Venture associate fund and a Singapore-based private equity (PE) player are in talks to invest Rs 300 crore in Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS). The hospital will use the fund for Indian and overseas expansion. KIMS CMD M Sahadulla told ET, “We have been talking to several PE players to fund our expansion plans.
We have now zeroed in on two funds—an ICICI associate fund and a Singapore-based healthcare focused PE player.” However, he did not disclose the amount of stake that KIMS would offload to these two funds. Mr Sahadulla added that apart from funds from PEs, KIMS was also looking at a strategic partner who would stay with the hospital for a longer period.
“We would like our partners to stay with the hospital for 5-7 years instead of exiting the hospital within 3-4 years with 25% annualised returns,” he said. KIMS plans to list the company in five years. India’s largest PE fund, ICICI Venture, has a healthcare-focused fund, I-Ven Medicare, which has a corpus of $250 million.
The fund has already invested in several hospitals in the country, mostly in regional hospitals in tier-II and III cities. A source said that KIMS has had initial discussions with I-Ven Medicare. However, KIMS has not finalised the valuation of the hospital and the investment plans.
KIMS is the first venture of KIMS Healthcare Management, started by a group of doctors and entrepreneurs. The hospital, which was commissioned in 2002, runs a 450-bed multi-specialty hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.
Source: Economic Times