Private equity investor Warburg Pincus is making a bid of up to $400 million for the giant MedPlus India pharmacy chain.
Nine year old MedPlus currently operates a network of 1200 retail stores in 12 states of India.
Promoter Madhukar Gangadi, who together with his family owns 31 per cent of the company, wants to ramp up the brand’s rollout to a massive 10,000 stores by 2020.
Warburg Pincus is one of several in a race to acquire 69 per cent of the business, according to The Economic Times newspaper. Its rivals include General Atlantic and Bain Capital.
If the chain fetches the figures being broadly quoted – between $350 and $400 million – it would represent a 250 per cent profit on the original investment of the outgoing shareholders, US-based Mount Kellett Capital Management, TVS Capital Funds and Ajay Piramal’s India Venture Advisors.
Investment bank Credit Suisse is leading the search for strategic buyers to help fund the store rollout.