4 June 2024
• News
24 May 2024
Apis Growth Fund I Exceeds Milestone of 2x DPI with Full Exit of Star Health
London, 24th May, 2024 – Apis Growth Fund I (the “Fund”), a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners LLP (“Apis”), a UK-based asset manager that invests in technology-enabled financial services businesses, has announced a full exit of its investment in India-based private health insurer Star Health & Allied Insurance Co. Ltd. (“Star Health” or the “Company”). Recognising its potential to transform the healthcare insurance landscape, the Fund invested in Star Health in 2016, and remained a shareholder following the Company’s IPO in late 2021.
Star Health is the largest stand-alone private health insurer in India. During the course of the Fund’s investment, the Company increased its market share in retail health insurance from 15% to 33%. It has the largest distribution footprint amongst all stand-alone health insurance companies in India and has played a key role in improving access to quality healthcare at affordable rates for mass-market customers.
Throughout the Fund’s ownership, Apis worked closely with Star Health’s management team to enhance operational efficiencies and pursue multiple value creation initiatives, utilising its expertise to support the Company on its digitisation roadmap; new product design; and IPO readiness.
Apis was founded with the parallel goals of generating superior returns for investors alongside positive social impact. The investment in, and exit from, Star Health underscores Apis’ position as a leader in achieving returns with responsibility. This divestment marks a significant milestone for Apis, with the returns from the Fund’s exits achieving a cumulative value of distributions paid to investors (“DPI”) of over 2x[1]. The 2015 vintage Fund has now successfully exited seven out of 10 investments, with four of these transactions occurring in the past 18 months, underscoring the firm’s strong record of consistently returning capital, even during challenging market conditions.
Matteo Stefanel, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Apis Partners: “We are proud of our partnership with Star Health and the transformation we have achieved together. Our investment has not only generated substantial returns for our investors but has also contributed to improving access to quality healthcare for millions of Indians. We are delighted to have seen the number of lives covered by Star Health increase from 4 million to 22 million per year over the course of the Fund’s investment, which is a testament to the successful growth initiatives executed during our ownership.”
Udayan Goyal, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Apis Partners, added: “Our exit from Star Health brings the Fund’s cumulative DPI to over 2x, demonstrating our team’s commitment to generating strong realised returns. Consistently returning capital throughout a fund’s cycle is a key element of our proven strategy, as shown by these results for our 2015 fund. We remain dedicated to identifying high-potential companies and using our sector specialism and global networks to support their growth.”
Financial and legal advisors on the deal were EY and Phoenix Legal.
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About Apis Partners
The Apis Group (“Apis”) is an ESGI-native global private equity and venture capital asset manager that supports growth-stage financial services and financial infrastructure businesses by providing them with catalytic growth equity capital. Collectively Apis, through its team of around 40 professionals with deep industry expertise, manages or advises on total committed capital from investors (including drawn and invested capital) of c.US$2 billion.
Including its headquarters in London, Apis has representation in eight countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Apis is highly conscious of the developmental impact that the provision of growth capital for financial services and financial infrastructure businesses in global markets can achieve, and as such, financial inclusion and financial wellness are core tenets of Apis’ impact investment approach.
