African investments company LeapFrog Investments has acquired a majority stake in Indian medical products firm Ascent Meditech for an undisclosed amount.
Image: LeapFrog Acquires Majority Stake in Ascent Meditech. Photo: Courtesy of Photo Coutesy: rawpixel/Unsplash
Ascent Meditech distributes niche consumer healthcare products, with a focus on orthopedics, pain and wound care. The company’s brand of products, Flamingo, is sold in over 44 countries globally.
Last year, the company has sold 15 million products through its network of 150,000 retail pharmacy points across 12 Indian states.
The investment from LeapFrog will help Ascent in capitalizing on favourable dynamics across both domestic and international markets.
Ascent Meditech CEO Rajiv Mistry said: “We are delighted to partner with LeapFrog Investments, who share our vision of opening up access to quality and affordable healthcare products and continuing to grow this market leading and trusted brand.
“Ascent Meditech will benefit greatly from LeapFrog’s extensive network, as the company enters its next phase of growth.”
The $100bn Indian healthcare market is expected to expand between 12 and 15% CAGR. Outside of India, the global market for orthopaedics and prosthetics spend is expected to reach $806.7m by 2020, more than double that of 2014, according to a report by Deloitte.
More than 80% of Ascent’s products are used for treating orthopaedic disorders, which affect over 200 millin people in India.
The share of India’s population over the age of 60 is expected to increase from the present 8% to 19% by 2050. Elderly populations tend to have a higher prevalence of orthopaedic ailments and usually prefer less invasive solutions over surgery.
LeapFrog Partner and Health Investments global co-lead Felix Olale said: “The Ascent Meditech team has achieved outstanding growth in the orthopaedic and wound care market, addressing a core need for consumers with high quality products and competitive prices, thus opening up accessibility.
“We see a huge opportunity for LeapFrog to partner with an outstanding management team to increase production and distribution of Ascent’s quality and trusted products, including the flagship Flamingo brand, in India, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.”