Warburg Pincus, a leading worldwide growth investor, has agreed to buy a minority position in Micro Life Sciences, the parent company of the Meril Group, India’s largest medical equipment company, for USD 210 million (about Rs 1,575 crore).
The deal will be carried out through Warburg’s affiliate South Elm Investments, which is awaiting CCI approval. Meril is a fast-growing medical device company founded by the Bilakhia family that creates, manufactures, and sells therapeutically relevant and cutting-edge medical products.
Meril has a market-leading position in various areas, thanks to its R&D facilities, manufacturing capabilities, and distribution reach. Meril’s fascinating growth narrative excites Warburg Pincus India’s Narendra Ostawal, who believes the company would benefit from the country’s secular healthcare tailwinds.
According to Meril’s Sanjeev Bhatt, this investment gives domestic medical devices a high level of credibility in the global environment, allowing them to expand their international presence, recruit global talent, and scale up clinical research efforts.
Meril has a diverse product portfolio with over 100 innovations in five therapy areas: cardiovascular, orthopaedic implants, endo-surgery, surgical robots, and in-vitro diagnostics. It has subsidiaries in the United States, Germany, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Bangladesh, Turkey, China, and Japan, and employs over 4,000 people in over 100 countries.
Warburg Pincus manages about 73 billion dollars in private equity assets across a portfolio of over 235 firms. Warburg has established 20 private equity funds and two real estate funds since its foundation in 1966 in New York, totaling over USD 100 billion in over 1,000 firms in 40 countries.
