CDC Group invests Rs 300 crore in Devi Shetty's Narayana Hrudayalaya

New Delhi: UK-based CDC Group, development finance institution, has invested $48 million (Rs 300 crore) to buy a minority stake in Devi Shetty-promoted Narayana Hrudayalaya. The firm runs hospitals under the banner of Narayana Health.

Narayana Health runs 29 hospitals in 17 Indian cities and claims to treat over 200,000 inpatients and 1.5 million outpatients each year.

According to ET report, the fund has acquired around 10-15% stake in the company which is backed by private equity funds JP Morgan and Pinebridge Capital.

'CDC aims to invest in businesses that create jobs and provide services and economic opportunity in poorer regions of India. Narayana Health’s commitment to extend healthcare to the low income states of India and to reduce the cost of that care made it an ideal partner,'says Srini Nagarajan, CDC’s Head of South Asia.

Narayana Health is one of India’s fastest growing healthcare groups and is known for its innovative model of large-scale, affordable and high-quality service. CDC’s capital will help the company build or expand hospitals in cities such as Kolkata, Lucknow, Bhubaneshwar and Bangalore.

'Narayana Health wants to transform the way healthcare is delivered across the world and CDC has the right approach towards addressing social issues in developing countries. We partnered with CDC because they are interested in long-term societal transformation and this objective is closely aligned with our goal,' says Dr. Devi Shetty, NH’s Founder and Chairman.

Employing over 12,500 people, Narayana Health now undertakes more than 13,500 cardiac surgeries every year, accounting for 10% of the national figure. The company treats over 200,000 inpatients and 1.5 million outpatients each year.

The company also operates one of the world’s largest telemedicine networks with 150 telemedicine centres including 50 in Africa. This system allows remote health facilities outside of main hospitals to seek advice from consultants at Narayana Health free-of-charge.

CDC recently made a US$11 million equity investment in microfinance company Utkarsh. CDC also continues to invest in the Indian private equity industry and made a new US$30 million commitment Rabo Equity's India Agri Business Fund 2.

Image: CorbisImages