Centre for Sight Gets Ready to Raise Rs 115 cr

MUMBAI: Centre for Sight is readying to hit the market to raise Rs 115 crore that will allow its promoter Dr Mahipal Singh and private equity investor Matrix Partners to sell part of their stakes in the Delhi-based eye care chain, a move that comes after a string of successful listings of healthcare firms.
The company, which operates 51 centres across 31cities, is looking to capture a Rs 15,800-crore pie of the eye care service market.

“When it comes to eye care, we are seeing a trend where patients are opting for paid premium surgeries rather than going with the NGOs. This presents a huge opportunity to us,“ Singh said in an interview with ET.

Currently, the eye care space is dominated by chains such as Vasan Eye Care, Sankara Nethralaya and Dr Agarwal's Eye Hospital, which is the only listed com pany in this business.

Centre for Sight's reported revenue for 2015 was ` . 151 crore, with an EBIDTA margin of 23%. The company is registering a growth rate of 37%.

Singh is betting on the changing demographic trend in India where not only the number of ageing population is on a rise, but also the upwardly mobile population is willing to spend on eye surgeries for cosmetic reasons.

The popularity of surgeries such as laser vision or retina correction is also fuelling the demand.

“One of the most common reasons for laser vision surgeries in India is when people want to get married or are seeking a job,“ said Singh.