Health tech startup Portea Medical acquires Health Mantra

New Delhi : Home healthcare company Portea Medical has acquired home medical equipment service provider Health Mantra India for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition, made for an undisclosed consideration of cash and stock, will help Portea expand presence in areas like sleep medicine, respiratory care, geriatric care and orthopedics, Portea said in a statement.

The key product lines for home medical equipment include respiratory care, sleep medicine, cardiology, diabetology, nephrology, geriatric care/mobility, orthopedics/rehab, wound care, obstetrics/gynaecology/infant care, diagnostics and infusion.

Equipment rental has driven growth as the industry evolves from the earlier 'sales-only' model.

"Medical equipment is often an integral element of effective home healthcare Our acquisition of Health Mantra augments Portea's offering and underlines our customer focus," Portea Managing Director and CEO Meena Ganesh said.

Portea said it is also exploring other investments as the company expands offerings to tackle challenges brought on by India's ageing population, rising burden of non-communicable diseases, and gaps in healthcare infrastructure.

Set up in 2009 by Ashish Bhutada and Anoop Kodoli, the Bengaluru-based Health Mantra has a team of over 30 biomedical engineers, physiotherapists and service staff.

It has a service network across five states Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh/Telangana and Maharashtra.

"We are already present across South India and Maharashtra, there is huge untapped demand in these markets as well as elsewhere in the country. Our alignment with Portea provides us a wider canvas to expand our operations across product lines and locations," Ashish Bhutada, co-founder, CEO and MD of Heath Mantra, said.

The market in India for medical equipment that can be used in a home-based setting is estimated at about Rs 10,000 crore per annum.

Portea had picked up a majority stake in PSTakeCare, a health-tech startup in January this year, while in November last year, it had acquired specialty pharmaceutical distributor, MedybizPharma.

Portea employs more than 5,000 staff and handles in excess of 70,000 home visits a month across India. It focuses on general primary health care, post-hospitalisation care, chronic disease management and allied services like diagnostics and medical equipment on hire.

In September, Portea had received Series B funding of USD 37.5 million from Accel, IFC, Qualcomm Ventures and Ventureast.