PE funds to buy stakes in Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences

Private equity (PE) funds OrbiMed and Ascent Capital will pick up a minority stake in Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences, or KIMS, for close to Rs 170 crore.

The Trivandrumbased 750-bed multi-disciplinary hospital is led by Dr MI Sahadulla and his team of highly qualified and experienced senior consultants. The funds raised through the fresh issue of shares will be used for expanding their operations.

Confirming the development, Dr Sahadulla said: “Both the investors are bullish about investing more but we would like to go about our expansion plans in a structured manner and in phases.” KIMS, started in the year 2002, also has presence is some of the gulf countries including Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

OrbiMed is the world’s largest healthcare-dedicated investment firm with $5 billion worth of assets, while Ascent Capital, led by Raja Kumar, manages $600 million of assets.