Private equity fund Quadria Capital is reportedly in advanced discussions for the acquisition of a minority position in Indian dialysis chain NephroPlus for approximately Rs20bn ($250m).
This acquisition will see the exit of current investors, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and US-based Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP), who are looking to sell a combined 30% stake.
Additionally, Investcorp, the largest shareholder of NephroPlus with a 35%-40% stake, may sell a portion of its shareholding.
Another investor, IIFL has a 5%-6% stake while promoters own nearly 30% stake in the dialysis chain, the Economic Times reported.
Established in 2009 by Sandeep Gudibanda, Vikram Vuppala and Kamal Shah, NephroPlus manages more than 300 dialysis centres across over 180 locations in four countries.
The chain caters to 22,000 patients monthly and has so far offered eight million treatments.
The company's valuation for the exit of existing investors is estimated at Rs20bn.
While emails to NephroPlus CEO Vikram Vuppala and representatives of IFC, BVP and Quadria were unanswered, an official from Investcorp declined to comment on the matter.
Reports suggest that NephroPlus is expected to achieve earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of Rs900m-Rs1bn in the financial year 2024 (FY 2024), potentially valuing the firm at 20 times its EBITDA.
In 2021, the chain raised Rs1.8bn in a Series E financing round, which was led by IIFL Asset Management (IIFL AMC) and included contributions from BVP and Investcorp.
NephroPlus has so far secured approximately $104m across various funding rounds.
In January 2023, the company secured a Rs700m loan from the Asian Development Bank to expand operations in Uzbekistan.
This expansion included the establishment of four dialysis centres in partnership with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan, following a $100m agreement.
Under the contract, NephroPlus was solely responsible for the launch and function of these four centres.
