General Atlantic, Kedaara invest Rs 1,500 crore in ASG Eye Hospitals

Leading eye care chain ASG Eye Hospitals has received Rs 1,500 crore equity investment from global fund majors General Atlantic and Kedaara Capital.The investment is also estimated to be the largest attracted by a company in the countrys eye care segment, according to the company.The deal involves buying out Investcorps equity in the company, which it has been holding since 2017.

Leading eye care chain ASG Eye Hospitals has received Rs 1,500 crore equity investment from global fund majors General Atlantic and Kedaara Capital.

The investment is also estimated to be the largest attracted by a company in the country's eye care segment, according to the company.

The deal involves buying out Investcorp's equity in the company, which it has been holding since 2017. Besides, the fund majors will acquire stakes from promoters well as from Dubai-based private equity fund Foundation Holdings which has been holding a 40 per cent stake since 2019, it said in a statement.

Specific details about the shareholding of the new investors in the company were not disclosed.

Jodhpur-headquartered ASG has more than 50 hospitals spread across 14 states.

The hospital said it would use the finding to fuel expansion and also claimed that the Rs 1,500 crore investment represents the largest fund-raise in the eye-care segment as well as the single largest private equity transaction in specialty healthcare industry to date.

General Atlantic and Kedaara will join Foundation Holdings in supporting and fuelling the hospital's growth towards their mission to become one of Asia's leading eye hospital chains, the statement said.

''Since 2005, our doctor-led model has stood for clinical excellence and quality eye care for all and since then our presence has widened with over 50 hospitals.

''On-boarding of General Atlantic and Kedaara Capital will help enhance the delivery of quality eye care for all and this cornerstone investment is a testament to the strength of our business model...,'' Arun Singhvi, Founding Chairman and Managing Director, and Shilpi Gang, Co-Founder of ASG, said in the statement.

Aakash Sachdev, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Foundation Holdings, said the funding is expected to accelerate the realisation of ASG's vision to become one of Asia's pre-eminent eye care provider, with plans to establish a network of over 200 hospitals over the next 36 months.

According to a recent Lancet report, 62 million Indians are visually impaired and 8 million of them completely blind. Cataract and diabetic retinopathy are the major causes for ocular morbidity and blindness if not treated in time, as per the report.

Further, the report said there is shortage of ophthalmologists and optometrists in small towns and rural areas as the country has only around 25,000 ophthalmologists and 45,000 optometrists against a required 1,25,000.

Shantanu Rastogi, a Managing Director at General Atlantic, said ASG has already had a positive impact on millions of lives and in the process, the team has demonstrated its ability to deliver strong performance at scale.

Nishant Sharma, a Managing Partner at Kedaara Capital, said ASG has built a replicable model to provide quality and affordable eye care to underserved masses across the country.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)