Constellation Alpha Capital Acquires Medall for USD 212 Million

Constellation Alpha Capital Corp., a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company focused on consolidating the healthcare services sector in India, on Friday said that it has signed an agreement to acquire Medall Healthcare Pvt. Ltd, a diagnostic chain based in South India. A special purpose acquisition company is a publicly listed buyout company that raises a blind pool of money through an IPO for completing the acquisition of a private company. Constellation is acquiring Medall at an enterprise valuation of ₹1450 crore (about USD 212 million), the company said. “Medall is among India’s leading integrated pathology and radiology companies, providing over 25 million diagnostic tests to over nine million customers in its most recent fiscal year. Since its inception, Medall has completed 24 acquisitions propelling its rise into the ranks of the top five Indian diagnostics companies by revenue, all of which predate it by at least 20 years,” it said.

Between FY13 and FY18, Medall’s revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew at an annual rate of 17 percent and 27 percent, respectively. “As of the date of this announcement, subject to closing, Constellation is expected to be the only India-focused healthcare services company to be publicly listed outside of India,” the company said. Constellation, which was founded by Rajiv Shukla, raised USD 143.75 million in its initial public offering in June 2017. Shukla was formerly the chief executive of Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Co (now Reliance Defence and Engineering Ltd). “We are pleased to begin our consolidation strategy with a market leader like Medall. We look forward to growing the company through serial acquisitions and organic levers,” said Shukla, the chairman and chief executive officer of Constellation. Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd advised Constellation Alpha Capital Corp on the transaction. – Livemint