Verlinvest invests $75M in Coimbatore-based The Eye Foundation
Headquartered in Coimbatore, The Eye Foundation runs over 25 hospitals across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, treating over a million patients annually.
Verlinvest, the Belgian investment firm backed by the founding families of Anheuser-Busch InBev, on Thursday said it has invested $75 million for a minority stake in The Eye Foundation, an ophthalmology chain.
The deal stands out as one of the largest private equity transactions in India’s single-speciality healthcare space this year, it said.
Headquartered in Coimbatore, The Eye Foundation runs over 25 hospitals across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, treating over a million patients annually. The chain offers a full range of ophthalmic services—from cataract and retinal surgeries to LASIK and corneal transplants. It plans to use the funds to expand through new hospitals, acquisitions, and technology upgrades.
“This partnership enables us to bring cutting-edge, affordable eye care to underserved regions across India,” said Dr D. Ramamurthy, Chairman of The Eye Foundation. “We remain committed to clinical excellence and patient-centric care,” he added.
The investment is part of Verlinvest’s push to increase its annual fund deployment in India, which has averaged over $100 million in recent years. The firm has backed more than two dozen Indian consumer brands, including Veeba, Epigamia, Purplle, and Wakefit.
“India has consistently delivered strong returns for us,” said Arjun Anand, Managing Director and Head of Asia at Verlinvest. “We see enormous potential in building high-impact healthcare brands such as The Eye Foundation, which combine clinical excellence with differentiated customer experience.”
The ophthalmology sector has steadily grown in recent years, driven by rising awareness of eye health and increasing demand for affordable, high-quality care. It remains a competitive and fragmented market, with several regional and national chains expanding their networks across India.
Among The Eye Foundation’s key competitors are Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, and Sankara Nethralaya and Sankara Eye Foundation—both non-profit institutions with a strong presence in southern India that provide a mix of paid and subsidised eye care services.
Jaipur-based ASG Eye Hospital operates over 40 hospitals across multiple states. Other notable players include Ahalia Foundation Eye Hospital in Kerala and Eye-Q Super Speciality Eye Hospitals, which operate primarily in northern India.
While these organisations offer similar clinical services, such as cataract, refractive, corneal, and retinal treatments, their approaches differ. Larger private chains like Dr. Agarwal’s and ASG are expanding through acquisitions and greenfield projects, focusing on middle-income and urban markets.
On the other hand, Sankara and Ahalia focus more on outreach and community-driven models. The Eye Foundation competes in both urban and semi-urban markets, balancing clinical quality with accessibility.
In terms of funding activity, the ophthalmology segment has seen limited but steady capital inflows in recent years. Dr. Agarwal’s raised about Rs 300 crore through a public issue in February 2025, following earlier investments from TPG and Temasek. ASG received additional funding this year from existing investors through preference shares, following a Rs 1,500 crore round led by General Atlantic and Kedaara Capital in 2022.
Veda Corporate Advisors served as the exclusive financial advisor to The Eye Foundation and its promoters.
Edited by Suman Singh