Frontier Mediville to raise Rs 20 cr via Private equity

Frontier Mediville, the proposed medicity project of Chennai-based KM Cherian promoted Frontier Lifeline, is looking at raising Rs 16-20 crore through private equity (PE) to invest in the first phase.

The company has initiated talks with PE firms to raise capital and expects to finalise the deal in the next six weeks. However, it would not look at a significant dilution of promoter stake in the project at this stage.

“We are looking for a small amount of around Rs 16-20 crore fund from PE firms. This would go into the Rs 160-crore Phase I of the project. We expect the first phase to be ready by November this year,” said Alamelu Sankaran, chief operating officer, Frontier Mediville.

The Rs 1,000-crore Frontier Mediville project is coming up on 350 acre of which 42 acre had received SEZ status from the central government in 2009. The project is expected to be ready in three phases.

The first phase will comprise a medical science park in the SEZ zone in Elavur village, almost 40 km from the city. It also includes a research and training centre and an animal laboratory to house clinical research organisations (CROs). The company would lease out the research facilities to CROs for which it is in talks with around 12 companies. It has arranged a term loan of Rs 90 crore from State Bank of India (SBI) and Bank of Baroda for the first phase.

The company would also look at raising fund through strategic investors or PE players for the second phase, which would involve around Rs 500 crore.

Phase II will include a Rs 144-crore bio hospital with 200 beds in the SEZ. The bio hospital, which the company claims to be the first of its kind in India, is designed as state-of-the-art tertiary care in all sub-specialties of medicine supported by modern basic sciences including stem cell technology, tissue engineering and nanotechnology.

It would also focus on integration of traditional and alternate medicinal technologies such as ayurveda, naturopathy, and siddha to the services. Another 750-bed multispeciality general hospital would be developed outside the SEZ in the second phase, she added.