The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved the initial public offering (IPO) of Healthvista India, the parent company of Portea Medical, a health IT startup. The permission was confirmed in a SEBI update this week, after Portea filed draught documents with the market regulator in July 2022, along with an addition to its draught red herring prospectus (DRHP) on 10 March 2023.
Portea Medical's parent company, Healthvista India, has announced a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 200 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 56,252,654 shares worth Rs 800 crore as part of its impending IPO.
Portea Medical will be listed on both the BSE and NSE stock exchanges following the IPO. Accel, Ventureast Life Fund III, MEMG CDC Ventures, Qualcomm Asia Pacific and Sabre Partners Trust will all sell their shares as part of the OFS. Accel intends to sell up to 24,804,874 shares in the OFS, while Ventureast Life Fund III, MEMG CDC Ventures, Qualcomm Asia Pacific and Sabre Partners Trust intend to sell up to 4,278,680, 4,445,735, 4,256,924, and 3,984,752 equity shares.
Healthvista India's IPO proceeds will be used for a variety of purposes, including meeting the working capital requirements of its subsidiary, Medybiz Pharma, debt repayment, medical equipment procurement, inorganic expansion initiatives, marketing and general corporate purposes. Portea Medical, which was formed in 2013 by Krishnan Ganesh and his wife Meena, provides a variety of healthcare services, including prenatal care, physiotherapy, nursing, lab tests, counselling, critical care and more.
Portea Medical has reclassified its founders as promoters in response to an intervention by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). SEBI objected to Portea's first Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), which stated that the business had no known promoter. SEBI has been pressing companies to officially identify founders with more than 10 per cent ownership in the company as promoters, and Portea's decision is consistent with that regulatory requirement.
The designation of a promoter entails a variety of disclosure obligations both during and after the IPO process, such as capital issues and disclosure requirements, compliance with the substantial acquisition of shares and takeover regulations, adherence to insider trading regulations, and fulfilment of listing obligations. These restrictions may operate as a deterrent for companies considering an IPO, especially at a time when venture capital is scarce and an IPO may be one of the only options for obtaining funds.
Portea Medical is currently functioning in 16 locations across India, with a track record of treating over 500K patients and cooperating with over 70 hospital partners to serve roughly 3.4 million patients.
According to Tofler data, the health-tech startup reported a net standalone loss of Rs 53.82 crore in FY22, while collecting Rs 96.37 crore in revenue from operations during the fiscal year.