EQT Private Capital Asia bets on Indian healthcare, other sectors
India would continue to attract investments from EQT Private Capital Asia, one of the world’s largest private equity firms, in the new year, especially in the fields of healthcare, financial services, and infrastructure, Jean Eric Salata, chairperson of EQT Asia and head of Private Capital Asia, said here today.
EQT Asia has already invested $6 billion in the last 18 months across key sectors, including healthcare technology, while it exited investments worth $2.4 billion in the same period.
“Over the past 18 months, we’ve invested $6 billion in India, which remains one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world. I believe that trend will continue in the new year (2025),” Salata said.
EQT Private Equity, earlier known as Barings PE, made its entry into India almost 30 years ago and since then it has grown into a significant Asia-focused PE business. In 2022, Barings PE merged with EQT, becoming the Asian arm of EQT. “EQT is a global investment firm, with a diverse portfolio across private equity, infrastructure, and real estate, and we offer these services globally, including in India,” Salata said while addressing a media roundtable.
EQT, founded by Sweden’s Wallenberg family, has substantial holdings in global companies such as Ericsson, ABB, Saab, and AstraZeneca. It went public in 2019 and is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, with a market capitalisation of around $40 billion. “Our assets under management (AUM) are approximately €280 billion, making us one of the largest private equity firms in the world,” Salata said.
Salata further said that liquidity and access to markets in India are also attractive. “India’s stock market has seen significant growth, and we believe having exposure to it adds a unique element to investors’ portfolios. These factors make India and Asia increasingly important in a post-low-interest-rate environment,” he added.
Hari Gopalakrishnan, partner, global co-head of services, EQT Private Capital Asia, said the firm was a pioneer in buyouts in India. “We’ve been doing buyouts for over a decade now. Our first major buyout in India was in 2013, with Hexaware. To date, we have completed around 20 buyout investments since 2011,” he said.
“Exits were relatively small compared to our new investments in India, but we’re pleased with the overall returns and progress we’ve made,” Gopalakrishnan said. “We are among the top performers in India across all key metrics. Over the last 15 years, we’ve distributed $7 billion out of India. Looking forward, we believe the buyout market in India will continue to grow. In 2023, the buyout market was worth $10 billion, and we expect it to reach $50 billion by the end of the decade,” he said.
Jimmy Mahtani, partner in the EQT Private Capital Asia team, said the firm completed multiple transactions in core sectors like healthtech services. “For instance, we have made investments in Perficient Inc and GeBBs Healthcare — both in the healthtech services sector. We also expanded into software, with our first investment in WSO2, a leading global provider of digital transformation technologies, and into low-cost housing, with our investment in Indostar,” Mehtani said.
“Another highlight this year is the successful public listing of Sagility India, in which an investment was made in early 2022. The strong performance of the company enabled us to take it public on the stock exchange earlier this month, which has been a great outcome for us,” said he.
“Looking ahead to 2025, we remain optimistic as all macro indicators suggest continued positive growth in India, and our long-term strategy and investments should continue to benefit from the groundwork we’ve laid over the years,” he said.
Salata said even after their partial exits from their portfolio companies via listings or block deals, these companies continued to perform well. “When we sell companies and take them public, it doesn’t mean we believe they don’t have a strong future ahead. In fact, it’s often the opposite. Our business model requires us to monetise our investments, gradually liquidate, and return capital to our investors. However, if you look at the performance of the companies we’ve exited, they’ve continued to do well. For example, Coforge has only increased in value since we sold it. CMS has either increased by 50 per cent, or has possibly doubled. Even Sagility India, which we took public just about a month ago, is up by 25 per cent since its IPO,” he said.
“Over the past decade, we’ve returned $7 billion out of India, and in the last 24 months, we’ve returned $2.4 billion,” he said.
“One trend we’re seeing in Asia is an increase in buyout activity. Historically, Asia, including India, was more of a minority investment market, where investors took a stake while the promoters or founders maintained control. We’re now seeing more investments, where we acquire a majority stake, sometimes 100 per cent, and this trend is growing across the region. In addition to India, we’re seeing increased deal activity in Japan, Australia, and Southeast Asia, while deal activity in China is declining,” Salata said.
“Healthcare is a huge focus for us globally. In India, we’ve already made investments in hospitals, including AIG Hospitals, and IndiraIVF. We are particularly excited about the hospital sector, but we’re also looking at other segments like diagnostics, medical devices, and pharma. We see significant potential in these areas, both in listed and unlisted companies, especially if we can gain control over them,” he said.
Asked about investments in artificial intelligence (AI)-led companies, Gopalakrishnan said AI is fundamentally transforming all industries, including IT services. “It’s a big opportunity, but also a disruption. Our companies are adapting by embracing AI technologies to innovate and improve productivity. For example, Sagility has acquired an AI company, BirchAI, to enhance its offerings. We believe AI will be a net positive for the IT services industry, providing growth opportunities for our portfolio companies,” he said. Business Standard
