Jashvik Capital to acquire more than 50% stake in Hyd eye care chain

Private equity (PE) firm Jashvik Capital Advisory Llp is acquiring a majority stake in Smart Vision Eye Specialties Pvt. Hyderabad-based Eye Hospital Chain Ltd, a person familiar with the matter said.

However, the person did not disclose the amount of investment.

Smartvision Eye Hospital is the second largest eye hospital chain in the Andhra Pradesh-Telangana region, after Quadria Capital-backed Maxivision Eye Hospital.

The hospital chain, founded in 2016, has 11 hospitals in the region and is growing at about 30% a year, said the person, who asked not to be named.

The company’s revenue is $100 Crores, Ebitda (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) is $350 million in the previous financial year.

The company plans to use the funds raised to expand in southern India. “The program will be expanded to at least the entire southern India within the first 12 to 18 months,” the person added.

Emails sent to Jashvik Capital and Smartvision on Thursday did not elicit a reply.

The investment is the latest in a series of private equity investments in single-specialty eye care hospitals, signaling strong growth in the space.

Earlier this month, the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of Dr. Agarwals Eye Hospital, a leading eye care services provider backed by TPG Capital and Temasek, received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) .

In May 2024, private equity firm ChrysCapital invested up to $100 million in New Delhi-based Center for Sight. In July 2023, Maxivision Eye Hospital obtained $Rs 1,300 crore investment from healthcare-focused fund Quadria Capital. ASG Eye Hospital is under construction $In July 2022, an investment of Rs 1,500 crore came from General Atlantic and Kedaara Capital. Healthcare-focused PE InvAscent Investments $In 2020, Sharp Sight Eye Hospital’s revenue will reach Rs 70 crore.

Investors see huge potential in eye care as the shift from unorganized to organized chains is underway, much like the recent growth in other single specialties such as in vitro fertilization, the person said.

“Such a quantity [single-speciality] Akshay Ravi, EY Healthcare Partner, said: “Centers created by organized players have grown approximately 10-fold in the past decade, with patients increasingly preferring these models as they can provide a curated care journey, superior experience and improved clinical outcomes.” Mint.

“Multiple micro-markets in various cities still lack access to these high-quality centers…The industry is poised for double-digit growth in the coming years, with both patients and clinicians recognizing the advantages of specialty centers versus multi-centers The clear advantage of specialized hospitals in specific areas,” he added.

Jashvik Capital, which has a target size of $350 million for its first fund, invested $25 million in Bengaluru-based medical technology company Futura Surgical in June 2024.