Quadria Capital deploys USD 1 billion to invest in Indian healthcare

Quadria Capital Investment Management Pte. plans to deploy as much as $1 billion in India over the next two-and-a-half years as the Asia-focused private equity firm seeks minority stakes in health-care companies, potentially doubling its existing investment in the country.

“We will evolve into more buyouts eventually, but currently we like backing entrepreneurs and working closely with them to help grow the companies,” said Sunil Thakur, a partner at the Singapore-based company.

Quadria has $1 billion of assets under management in India, where roughly half of each of its prior funds has been deployed, according to Thakur. Overall it manages about $3.4 billion of health-care assets, he said in an interview in Mumbai Tuesday.

The firm is continuing to raise money for its third fund after attracting $500 million last year. Thakur declined to comment on how much the firm expects to collect and when the fund would close. It wrapped up its second fund with $595 million of investor capital in 2020.

The firm invests between $75 million and $200 million in health-care opportunities, typically taking minority stakes of between 15-45%, Thakur said. It invests across five broad themes of local manufacturing, outsourcing of products and services, consolidation, consumer health care and digitalization, he said.

Within these segments, the firm is bullish on single specialty clinics, diagnostic companies, neutraceuticals, and contract manufacturing, he said.

Unlike in developed markets, ambulatory-care models and rehabilitation clinics haven’t made their way to India yet. That could change, increasing the supply and attractiveness of single specialty companies, he added.

While hospitals in India are “richly valued,” there are still opportunities in mid-sized operations with about 2,000 beds, which are ripe for consolidation, Thakur said.

Recent investments by the private equity fund include NephroPlus Dialysis Pvt, a dialysis provider in India, and Maxvision Eye Hospitals, an eye-care chain. The firm is selling a 10% stake in Akums Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a contract manufacturer, and plans to retain a 5% interest, Thakur said. Bloomberg