Molbio Diagnostics, sponsored by Temasek and MOPE, begins IPO preparations with a value target of Rs 22,000–24,000 cr

In September 2022, Goa's first unicorn company was Molbio Diagnostics, which is well-known for its molecular diagnostics platform.

In September 2022, Molbio Diagnostics became the first firm in Goa to achieve unicorn status.

According to three people with knowledge of the situation who spoke to Moneycontrol, Molbio Diagnostics, a diagnostics chain backed by Motilal Oswal Private Equity (MOPE) and a large Singaporean investor Temasek, has begun preparations for an initial public offering that is expected to garner between Rs 2,200 crore and Rs 2,400 crore in FY25.

"Kotak Mahindra Capital, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, Jefferies, and IIFL Capital are members of the advisers' syndicate, which was just concluded. The company hopes to be valued between Rs 22,000 crore and Rs 24,000 crore," one of the aforementioned individuals said.

In September 2022, Molbio Diagnostics became the first firm in Goa to achieve unicorn status, having raised around Rs 680 crore from Temasek and current investor MOPE.

According to a second source who spoke with Moneycontrol, the planned listing—the first in India's specialized molecular diagnostics sector—would allow current investors to withdraw their money in part, and the promoter group probably would as well.

According to a third source, the IPO was scheduled to begin in November. 

Under the condition of anonymity, the three individuals mentioned above talked with Moneycontrol.

At the time this report was published, Molbio Diagnostics, its top executives, and Motilal Oswal Financial Services had not responded to several emails.

Temasek said that it does not comment on market speculation when approached. "Therefore, we will not comment," the company said.

We were unable to immediately get comments from IIFL Capital, Jefferies, or Kotak Mahindra Capital.

Diagnostic equities such as Dr Lal Pathlabs, Vijaya Diagnostics, and Metropolis Healthcare have increased by 12.31 percent, 6.94 percent, and 19.74 percent, respectively, during the last month.

Additional information on Molbio

The CEO and technocrat Sriram Natarajan established Molbio, which is well-known for its Truenat technology, a point-of-care, battery-operated real-time PCR platform. The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved Truenat as the first point-of-care molecular diagnostic platform to replace smear microscopy in the diagnosis of TB.

In addition to tuberculosis, the company is looking to strengthen diagnostic testing for hepatitis C, B, HPV, and HIV. It is also working on several point-of-care technologies in the areas of haematology, cancer, anti-microbial resistance (AMR), next-generation sequencing (NGS), as well as syndromic testing, according to an article published on Molbio by BioSpectrum India on May 11.

Following a group sales of Rs 850 crore in FY 23–24, the firm intends to introduce new goods into the Indian market and expand its worldwide footprint this fiscal year. MolBio Diagnostics anticipates revenue collection of Rs 1200 crore in FY 24–25 with these measures in mind," the report said.

Molbio entered the radiology market in February 2023 when it bought a controlling share in Prognosys Medical Systems, a producer of digital X-ray equipment, including ultra-portable and portable models. Bigtec Labs, situated in Bangalore, is Molbio's research and development division.