InvAscent, a healthcare-focused private equity (PE) firm which counts cancer care provider HCG and multi-speciality chain Ankura Hospital among its portfolio companies, is said to have closed its fourth fund at $304 million, according to a report by VC Circle.
This falls short of the original $325-million target, added the report.
Established in 2005, InvAscent is a growth equity investor that backs small and mid-sized businesses in the Indian pharma, healthcare, animal health, and medtech industries.
Last year, DealStreetAsia reported in October that India’s quasi-sovereign fund National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) was in talks to invest in the healthcare firm’s latest investment vehicle.
Prior to that in June, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) was understood to be mulling an equity investment of up to $25 million in the said fund.
InvAscent, which manages about $800 million in assets, is expected to dole out cheques of $10-50 million to 12-15 companies from its latest fund as it looks double down on investments in the healthcare sector.
DealStreetAsia first reported about India Life Sciences Fund IV targeting a corpus of $300-400 million in August 2023.
InvAscent’s debut healthcare fund, Evolvence India Life Sciences Fund (EILSF), raised $100 million in 2006 and was anchored by Dubai-based fund-of-funds manager Evolvence. Its second fund, India Life Sciences Fund II, made the final close at Rs 875 crore ($143.2 million), against a target of Rs 750 crore, in September 2014. Subsequently, its third fund was closed in 2019 with a corpus of $250 million.
InvAscent has already started investing from the fourth fund and has so far backed ABI Health; healthtech SaaS company Fleming Laboratories; and Maiva Pharma, India’s second-largest pure-play injectables contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO).
The healthcare sector is, of late, witnessing significant investor interest with a host of firms lining up to raise capital from LPs.
Other healthcare firms investing in the country include names such as Quadria Capital and Somerset Indus. 360 ONE Asset, a backer of Indian unicorns such as Swiggy and PharmEasy, is also looking at a healthcare fund, while in the VC space, Synapses, led by former IFC exec Ruchira Shukla, is looking at investments in the sector.
