Dr. Agarwal Health Care’s shares plummeted amid reports of a large stake sale by Temasek and TPG-linked entities, signalling a potential shift in ownership as the company prepares for a future IPO.
Dr. Agarwal Health Care Ltd. came under pressure on Wednesday after reports suggested that Temasek and TPG-linked entities were preparing a large block sale, sending the ophthalmology chain’s shares sharply lower in early trade. The stock slipped as much as 7.5% to Rs 501 on the NSE before recovering part of the drop, as investors reacted to the prospect of a stake sale worth about Rs 2,000 crore.
According to NDTV Profit, the proposed transaction is structured around an offer price of Rs 500 a share, a discount of 7.7% to the prevailing market price at the time of the report. The base deal size is 35 million shares, equal to an 11% stake, with an additional 5 million shares available through an upsizing option. The reported buyers are Hyperion Investments and Claymore Investments, while Kotak Securities and IIFL Capital are said to be advising on the deal.
The share sale would extend a pattern of partial exits by the company’s backers, who have already been active investors in Dr. Agarwal Health Care over several years. Temasek first invested Rs 270 crore in 2019 to support expansion and technology upgrades in super-speciality eye care, according to industry reports, and later joined TPG Growth in a larger Rs 665 crore financing round in August 2023. Those funds were intended to help the company more than double its network of centres over the following three years.
The latest reports also come after the company began preparing for an initial public offering, with a March 2024 report saying it was targeting about Rs 3,000 crore in FY25 through a mix of fresh equity and an offer for sale by existing shareholders. That filing said Temasek and TPG were among the investors expected to sell part of their holdings, alongside the promoter group, which held a 37.83% stake. The timing of the market move suggests investors are treating the block deal as another step in the gradual reshaping of ownership at the eye-care chain.
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