Single specialty healthcare delivery platform Asia Healthcare Holdings (AHH) is acquiring a majority stake in Asian Institute of Nephrology and Urology (AINU) for ₹600 crore.
The investment in AINU, which operates seven hospitals across Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Siliguri and Chennai, will be made through a mix of primary and secondary infusion, AHH said in a release on September 20, without specifying the stake being acquired.
It marks TPG Growth and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC-backed investing and operating healthcare platform’s foray into urology and nephrology segment. AHH, launched in 2017, owns and operates Motherhood Hospitals network of 23 women and children’s hospital across 11 cities and Nova IVF Fertility chain of 68 IVF centres in 44 cities in India and South Asia. It also built oncology hospital chain CTSI before exiting the company in 2019.
On the latest acquisition, AHH Executive Chairman Vishal Bali said “AINU is a distinct single specialty hospital chain in urology and nephrology built on the foundation of deep clinical expertise and led by clinicians with decades of experience in the specialty. AINU not only adds a new speciality to the AHH platform but also strengthens our vision of scaling the single specialty healthcare delivery ecosystem in the country.”
Founded in 2013 by a team of urologists and nephrologists led by Dr. C. Mallikarjuna and Dr. P.C. Reddy, AINU network has more than 500 beds, treated more than four lakh patients and completed over 50,000 procedures. AINU has completed over 1,000 robotic urology surgeries. “On the nephrology front, it has performed more than 2,00,000 dialysis and 300 kidney transplants,” AHH said.
“We believe AHH has the legacy and the right partner for next phase of growth of our enterprise”, said Dr. Mallikarjuna, who is the Chief Consultant Urologist and Managing Director of AINU.
Setting the backdrop is the emergence of nephrology and urology as one of the fastest growing specialities in the country. AHH said in 2022, India recorded approximately 1.89 crore nephrology and urology procedures and projected to grow at a CAGR of 8-9% over the next five years. There are 6,000 qualified urologists and 3,500 nephrologists in the country. Approximately 350 urologists and 250 nephrologists graduate every year and the rise of laparoscopic, endoscopic and robotic surgical options gives a compelling growth opportunity for AINU to scale across the metros and tier-2 cities in the country.
