| Company | Value | Change | %Change |
|---|
The firm, which had filed its draft papers on September 27, is backed by marque investors TPG and Temasek and holds a 71.90 percent stake in subsidiary Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, which was incorporated back in 1994.
“The nod from the market regulator has come in. No final call has been taken yet, but depending on market conditions and other factors, the issue may be launched either later in January or post the Union Budget in February,” said one of the persons cited above.
Two others confirmed the above and one of them added that the investor roadshows had concluded.
All three persons spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.
An email query sent to Dr Agarwal’s Health Care and the promoters remained unanswered at the time of publishing this article. This article will be updated as soon as we hear from the firm.
As per the draft papers, the IPO is a mix of fresh issue of equity shares worth ₹300 crore by the company, and an offer-for-sale of 6.95 crore equity shares by promoters and investors.
Moneycontrol was the first to report in March 2024 that Dr Agarwal’s Health Care had engaged investment banks as advisors and kicked off the process to launch an initial public offer and raise around ₹3,000 crore in FY25.
Over and above the promoter group, TPG and Temasek will be the selling shareholders in the offer-for-sale (OFS).
The promoters own a 37.83 percent stake in Dr Agarwal’s Health Care. TPG holds 33.75 per cent while Temasek holds 28.18 per cent.
The Nifty Health Care Index has delivered returns of 40.78 per cent in the last year while the share price of Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital has soared by 124.15 per cent during the same period.
Kotak Mahindra Capital, Jefferies, Morgan Stanley and Motilal Oswal are the merchant bankers to the issue by Dr Agarwal’s Health Care.
A closer look at Dr Agarwal’s Health Care
With 165 facilities in India and 15 globally (including 9 in Africa), the Tamil Nadu-based company provides eye care services including cataract, refractive, and other surgeries as well as sells opticals, contact lenses and accessories, and eye care-related pharmaceutical products. It had a market share of approximately 25 percent of the total eye care service chain market in India during the fiscal 2024.
Dr Agarwal’s Health Care will utilise ₹195 crore out of the net fresh issue proceeds for repaying its debt, and the remaining funds for general corporate purposes and inorganic growth as per the draft papers.
On the financial front, the net profit in fiscal 2024 dropped by 7.9 percent to ₹95 crore from ₹103.2 crore in the previous fiscal despite healthy topline and operating performance, as there were tax expenses at ₹45.52 crore against tax write-back of ₹19.6 crore during the same period.
Revenue from operations during the financial year ended March 2024 increased by 30.9 percent to ₹1,332 crore compared to ₹1,018 crore in the previous year. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) grew by 34 percent year-on-year to ₹362.3 crore, and the margin increased by 0.6 bps to 27.2 percent in fiscal 2024.
The Indian eye care industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 12-14 percent from FY24 to FY28. The size of the Indian eye care services industry was approximately ₹37,800 crore in fiscal 2024 and is projected to grow to ₹55,000-65,000 crore by FY28, as per the draft papers of Dr Agarwal’s Health Care.
