The fund is being raised for expansion plans
Specialised genetics diagnostics company Lilac Insights has raised Rs 500 million fresh capital for expansion. The round was led by veteran banker and renowned investor Rajiv Dadlani and saw participation from Allana Group, Sajid Fazalbhoy, DLF Family Office, SEBI registered Fund Rockstud Capital, Kayenne Ventures (Singapore), Salgaocars (Goa), Associated Capsules Group, Thakrals (Singapore), amongst others. Existing investors i.e. Tara India Fund, along with the promoters, also participated in the Round.
As part of the expansion plan, the company is making enhancements to the state-of-the-art-lab at Navi Mumbai (HO), also it plans to grow its existing genomic facilities and build new regional and satellite labs, with a focus on cancer histopathology and add infectious diseases to its menu of genetic tests. In addition to the main lab Navi Mumbai, it also has labs, in Chandigarh, Pune, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Coimbatore. The company recently acquired a fully functional lab in Bengaluru for genomics and ONCO division expansion.
The company saw strong investor interest, from several reputed venture capital and private equity funds, but decided to go with HNIs and Family Offices led by the Rajiv Dadlani Group, given their strong track record, in investing and scaling-up businesses profitably, along with strong Healthcare domain expertise.
Lilac Insights was founded in 2011 by Subhamoy Dastidar, Rakesh Sharma and Gulshan Bakhtiani. The company offers specialised diagnostics services for prenatal, newborn and oncology i.e. cancer disorders. It also offers genetics counselling services. They have also launched new improved tests in the fields of Infertility, Newborn Screening and Genomics.
Having served over seven lakh pregnancies since inception, the Company’s sales revenue has grown eight folds in the past five years at a 52 per cent CAGR. It also turned profitable at the operating level in 2018-19. The company is on target to achieve Rs 3 Billion in sales revenue by 2025, with strong profitability and is also considering an IPO in the next three to four years.
The company has an active doctor base of 7,000 and an active hospital and nursing homes base of 2,500 and aims to use the fresh capital, to expand its presence in India to 500 cities and towns, from 150 currently. Lilac employs 400 people, among which are 13 doctors and 90 skilled lab staff.
Sharing his views, Subhamoy Dastidar, Co-Founder said, “We are happy with the support and trust that our investors have shown in us. They have a good track record, in investing and scaling-up businesses profitably, along with strong Healthcare domain expertise. Moreover, we are grateful to our one million + customers, who have shown trust in our services. With this round of funding, we plan to grow our existing genomic facilities, build new regional and satellite labs nationwide and expand our presence in India to 500 cities and towns, also add new improved tests in the fields of Infertility testing, Newborn screening for assessing the health of infants and introducing new Genomics related tests for other clinical specialities.”
Rajiv Dadlani, from the Family Office of the Rajiv Dadlani Group and lead investor in the Company, said, “The promoters had a strong pedigree and tremendous collective experience, in the healthcare industry, along with their management team, have done a splendid job. We are very impressed with their growth, execution and ethics. Given their vision and strong execution demonstrated, also the genomics and high-end diagnostics segment, being at a nascent stage in India, with huge growth potential, we are glad to partake as long-term investors, and support them in their amazing journey forward.”
Prior to starting the company, Dastidar and Sharma were working with MNC biotech company PerkinElmer. Dastidar was earlier associated with companies such as Allergan and Wockhardt, while Sharma worked with GlaxoSmithKline. Bakhtiani having stints with Lupin Labs, is a co-founder for Wellness Forever, a very successful 24 * 7 Retail Pharmacy chain in India.
