Centre for Sight, one of the leading eyecare chains in the India promoted by Mahipal Singh Sachdev, a former AIIMS ophthalmologist, is all set to hit the capital market to launch its public issue at the time when the IPO market is bustling with activity after a lull last fiscal.
The IPO of the Delhi-based single specialty healthcare company will comprise a fresh issue shares to raise about Rs 115 crore and an offer for sale of up to 2.54 million shares by existing shareholders, that will also see a part exit of its venture capital investor Matrix Partners, said sources with direct knowledge of the development. The company has already filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India. Matrix had invested in Centre for Sight in two tranches and currently holds less than 20 per cent stake in the company.
When contacted, Dr Mahipal Singh Sachdev, Chairman & Medical Director at Centre for Sight, declined to comment on the development. It plans to use some of the corpus to expand its operations, primarily in the northern part of the country. It will construct a super speciality eye care centre in Dwarka region in Delhi and add at least 6 more eye care centres. Another part of the funds raised will be used to pre-pay some loans it had availed to construct the centre in Dwarka. Besides, it plans to the remaining capital to buy shares from existing shareholders of CFS Netralaya, located in Meerut, among others.
Despite the roller-coaster ride on the Indian bourses earlier this year following a spate of issues that rocked the global market and Asia coupled with a lack of clarity over certain domestic regulatory proposals, the year 2015 has overall brought in cheer for investors. The number of IPOs launched this year has been significantly high, which is definitely a reason rejoice since companies actually shied away from tapping the capital market last year.
As per data available with market research firm Prime Database, in the first half of the current fiscal, as many as 39 IPOs were launched compared to 25 in the corresponding period of last fiscal. In terms of value, companies raised as much as Rs 4,950 crore through IPOs, with another Rs 12,916 crore raised through the Offer for Sale through Stock Exchange mechanism (OFS). This represented a near 5-time increase from the corresponding period of the preceding year in which only Rs. 1,017 crore was mobilised.
In the healthcare space itself, a host of companies have lined up their IPO plans this year. These include Aster DM Healthcare, Thyrocare Technologies, Dr Lal Pathlabs and Narayana Hrudayalaya. Besides, the plan of Alkem Laboratories, India’s fifth largest drugmaker by domestic sales, to tap the capital market after 42 years of its active existence in the domestic pharma market, is yet another landmark healthcare IPO to hit the market shortly. The company, which was founded in 1973, has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), will offer 10.75 per cent of its equity (up to 12,853,442 equity shares) to public and list the company at leading stock exchanges.
BW Reporters
Over 14 years in journalism, I cover corporate sectors and write on M&A, private equity, venture capital and healthcare. I also play the role of an editorial lead for proprietary events like BW Healthcare Awards and BW Young Entrepreneur Awards. I am also a guest faculty at The Indian Institute of Mass Communication (Dhenkenal). Prior to BW Businessworld, I have had stints with Forbes India, The Economic Times, India Today and The Indian Express. When not working, I love travelling and discovering new places - soaking in new culture, food and people. I also like to spend time with my fawn Labrador.
