Apollo Hospitals' unit to raise Rs 2,475 crore from PE firm Advent International

Apollo HealthCo Ltd (Apollo 24|7) on Friday announced it would raise equity capital of Rs 2,475 crore from leading private equity (PE) investor Advent International.

A subsidiary of Apollo Hospitals, Apollo 24|7 said it has also entered into a framework agreement to integrate 100 per cent of Keimed Private Ltd, India's leading wholesale pharma distributor, in a phased manner over the next 24-30 months. Advent will invest in two tranches to secure a 12.1 per cent stake in the merged entity, by valuing the combined entity at an enterprise value of Rs 22,481 crore.

Apollo 24|7 is valued at an enterprise value of Rs 14,478 crore while Keimed is valued at an enterprise value of Rs 8,003 crore.Post-merger, Keimed shareholders would hold a maximum of 25.7 per cent stake in the combined entity, while Apollo Hospitals would continue to remain the largest controlling shareholder with at least 59.2 per cent stake.

"Apollo 24|7 has delivered on this promise and has reached over 33 million Indians in a short span of time. With Advent's investment and the merger of Keimed, the combined entity will be one of the country's leading retail health companies," said Dr Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group.

The merger is subject to further corporate approvals to be obtained at the relevant time. "The size of the merged supply chain will allow 1.4 billion Indians access to genuine medicines within 24 minutes to 24 hours, 7 days a week,” said Shobana Kamineni, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals.

According to Shweta Jalan, Managing Partner and Head of Advent India, this investment demonstrates Advent's commitment to investing in the fast-growing healthcare sector in India.Since its inception in February 2020, Apollo 24|7 has built a user base of more than 33 million users and is facilitated by a network of over 7,000 doctors.