Apollo Health & Lifestyle raises Rs 450 crore from IFC to fund expansion

Apollo Health and Lifestyle, a wholly owned subsidiary of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, on Thursday, December 1, announced  it had raised Rs 450 crore from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the IFC Asset Management Company.

Sharing the details in Hyderabad, Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise said Apollo Health, which operates in the retail healthcare segment, would be using the funds for its growth and expansion over the next 24 months.

It operates a range of formats including multi-specialty clinics (Apollo Clinics), Diabetes Clinics (Apollo Sugar), Diagnostics (Apollo Diagnostics), Dental centres (Apollo White), Dialysis, Women & Children hospitals (Apollo Cradle), Fertility centres (Apollo Fertility) and Surgical Centres (Apollo Spectra) across the country. She said, the aim was to build on the growth of each of the formats and expand and grow each of them.

For instance, to expand it's network of clinics, currently 72 clinics and to about 100 and take the currently 8 cradle units to 20, see Apollo Health's White and Sugar formats grow at 10 to 15 per cent per annum,over the next 2 to 3 years. During this period also see the laboratory diagnostic outfits finding its presence in each Indian state as against largely South today.

She said, "So far, Apollo Health (incorporated in 2000) has got investments to the tune of Rs 500 crore. IFC's investment, means it takes 29 per cent equity in the company with an enterprise value of Rs 1,860 crore."

Responding to a question from Business Today on IFC's investment plans, Henrik Elschner Pedersen, senior manager - consumer and social services - Asia, IFC said, "One third of our health portfolio is here in India and going forward we see $ 200 to 300 million going into this here in India." Apollo Health hopes to close the current year (FY17) with revenues to the tune of Rs 450 crore, up from Rs 330 crore in FY16.