Gulf Capital invests $30m in ART Fertility Clinics to fuel its expansion in India

UAE-based private equity firm plans to boost its investments in the healthcare sector

Karim El Solh, chief executive of Gulf Capital. The company is investing $30 million in the ART Fertility Clinics to fuel its expansion in India. Satish Kumar/ For the National

Private equity firm Gulf Capital is investing $30 million in the Middle East-based ART Fertility Clinics to help the brand expand in India.

The company's investment will allow the assisted fertility chain to open 18 clinics in different parts of the country over the next 12 months, Gulf Capital said in a statement on Sunday.

The first two clinics have already opened in Gurgaon and New Delhi, while other clinics will be rolled out in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and other cities in the coming months.

“ART Fertility Clinics is the fastest-growing IVF [In-vitro fertilisation] service provider in the GCC, and we are excited to be collaborating with … [the clinic’s] management to take this platform to the next level,” Karim El Solh, chief executive of Gulf Capital, said.

Gulf Capital invested over $100m to acquire a controlling stake in ART Fertility Clinics in January last year.

The fertility sector in India is expected to grow 12 per cent annually over the next five years due to technological advancements in the field.

“We are excited to launch the most advanced IVF clinics in India as we embark on our next phase of expansion and growth,” Suresh Soni, global chief executive of ART Fertility, said.

Gulf Capital, which manages more than $2.5 billion in assets across seven funds and investment vehicles, aims to boost its investments in the technology and healthcare sectors.

The company will launch a $750m fund next year to invest in sectors such as technology, healthcare and health technology, Mr El Solh told The National last week.

“We’ve done six deals in the healthcare sector and we wanted to do more and it is a resilient sector. One thing that really excites us is HealthTech, the intersection of healthcare and technology,” Mr El Solh said.

Gulf Capital acquired two US HealthTech companies, Eclat Health and Hansei Solutions, for $60m last week. It aims to boost its healthcare-focused revenue cycle management platform through these deals.