Healthtech Startup Portea To Raise Up To INR 1,000 Cr Via IPO; May File DRHP Next Month

Bengaluru-based healthtech startup Portea Medical is likely to raise about INR 900-1,000 Cr through an initial public offering (IPO). For this, the healthtech startup may file the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI next month.

DRHP, a legal preliminary prospectus, serves as an important communication link between the company, its investors and stakeholders.

The existing shareholders of the startup might sell shares worth INR 700 Cr and Portea might sell new shares of INR 200 Cr during the IPO.

When a company plans to raise money from the public by selling its shares to investors, it files and submits a DRHP or preliminary registration document with the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

However, the startup’s balance sheet is not in good shape, as per a Mint report. The reserves and surplus are negative and the funds raised would be used to repay loans it has taken in the past.

Founded in 2013 by Krishnan Ganesh and his wife Meena Ganesh, Portea offers services, including mother and child care, nutrition and diet consultation, physiotherapy, nursing, lab tests, counselling, and elder care for parents and critical care.

The startup is currently operational in 16 cities across India including Bengaluru, Chennai, Chandigarh, Delhi, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Noida, Pune, and Vijayawada, as per its website. 

Portea claims to have served more than 500,000 patients and worked with more than 70 hospital partners with 3.4 Mn patients visiting its centers across 16 cities. 

Meanwhile, Portea secured a commitment from the United States International Development Finance Corporation for a $7.7 Mn local currency guarantee facility to assure repayment of an INR-denominated loan, to be issued by a local commercial bank in India, Inc42 reported in September 2021.

It was reported that the DFC-guaranteed loan would be utilised in the expansion of the startup’s business through digitalisation, broadening service offerings, increasing geographical coverage and developing innovative delivery channels for home-based healthcare. 

During the pandemic, Portea brought together over 1,000 healthcare workers and 500 doctors, directly and via partnerships, to deliver home isolation for Covid-19 patients under agreements with the governments of Delhi, Karnataka, Haryana, Punjab, Chennai and local administrations. 

The startup also provides a collection of lab samples and offers medical equipment for sale or on hire, as well as patient assistance programmes for chronic disease management.

The medical platform has introduced new services such as chemotherapy and dialysis at home in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, India’s healthtech market is estimated to reach $21 Bn in 2025 on the back of telemedicine and preventive healthcare growth, according to a report by Inc42. 

Further, the report showed that preventive healthcare in the country is expected to reach a market size of $170 Bn by 2025, primarily driven by fitness and wellness apps and diagnostics solutions. 

The healthtech sector in India, with more than 5,000 startups, is all set to grow at a CAGR of 39% to touch $5 Bn by 2023, according to a report by RBSA Advisors. And it is expected to reach $50 Bn by 2033.

Portea becomes the second Indian startup in healthtech which will be heading for an IPO. Mumbai-based pharmacy unicorn Pharmeasy is also heading for IPO. The healthtech giant had filed DRHP last year for INR 6,250 Cr IPO and received the SEBI nod for the same in February this year.