After raising around Rs 400 crore from investors led by Fidelity Growth Partners India, Chennai-based medical technology firm Trivitron Healthcare Private Limited is planning to use the money partially for acquisitions in Europe and in the US.
GSK Velu, founder and MD of Trivitron Group of Companies, said, “We are looking at companies with a turnover of around Rs 100 crore in Europe and US. The acquisition will be mainly for technology.”
The money would also be used to increase Trivitron’s shareholding in Kiran Medical Systems, an international player in imaging accessories, where it acquired a minority stake earlier this year. He declined to comment further.
The investment also provides partial exits for ePlanet Ventures and Headland Capital, who invested in Trivitron in 2007. ePlanet and Headland Capital (earlier HSBC Private Equity Asia) invested $11 million or Rs 50 crore in Trivitron.
Ties up with Italy-based company
The company on Wednesday announced a strategic partnership with the Italy-based DiaSorin Group.
Speaking on this, he said both the partners would cater to Indian invitro diagnostics market of around $500 million and immunodiagnostic market of around $165 million.
The joint venture —DiaSorin Trivitron Healthcare Pvt Ltd, in which the parties will have 51 per cent and 49 per cent stakes respectively — will directly operate in the diagnostics market and would play a key role in the immunodiagnostic market over the next three years.
To start with, it will be a trading partnership and going forward, the company would look at setting up a manufacturing capacity near Chennai. The products will be available from January.
The JV will start with an investment of Euro 2 million (approximately Rs 14 crore) and set a target of around Rs 100 crore in the next two years, he added.
Till the manufacturing capacity goes on stream, the products would be imported from DiaSorin manufacturing units in Europe. “Once the manufacturing capacity goes on stream, the products will be 30-50 per cent cost-effective,” he said.
Multinational companies including Abbott, Siemens, Roche, which catering to this segment, were importing and this JV would be the first to manufacture in India in the immunodiagnostics segment, he added.
On White Dental Care, a JV between Trivitron and Apollo Hospitals, Velu said, “both the boards have decided not to look for external funding for now and fund the expansion plan from internal resources. The company is planning to expand the number of dental clinics to 100 in the next two years from 25 at present.”
