TVM Capital Healthcare invests in Vietnamese Eye Care Business Alina Vision in a Growth-Buy Out Transaction

Alina Vision operates hospitals in the underserved Vietnamese ophthalmology market, providing affordable and high-quality eye care services for people across all income levels to combat avoidable blindness; and meeting the impact investing strategy of TVM Capital Healthcare

SINGAPORE and HANOI, Vietnam, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fred Hollows Foundation, Australia, Rohto Pharmaceutical, Japan, and TVM Capital Healthcare, Singapore and Dubai, today announced the closing of a significant equity investment in Alina Vision, a leading eye care business which currently operates two hospitals in Vietnam. 

Alina Vision was founded by international development organisation The Fred Hollows Foundation in 2018. Over the past five years The Fred Hollows Foundation and Rohto Pharmaceutical, a leading eyecare company in Japan, have provided financial backing, eye surgery training and clinical support to Alina Vision to grow the organisation from inception to more than 80 employees across two eye hospitals.

Alina Vision completed over 2,800 cataract surgeries in 2023 and has a vision to grow its network to a chain of hospitals across Vietnam with significantly increased capacity. Cataracts represent the most common cause of blindness in individuals aged 50 years and over in Vietnam, affecting mainly women. The demand for cataract surgeries is expected to rise significantly, surpassing the available service supply. The investment of industry specialist growth capital investor TVM Capital Healthcare will provide Alina Vision access to operational, clinical, training, and management resources, in addition to the equity investment, and accelerate the growth plans while elevating quality of care.

 Hoda Abou-Jamra, Managing Director of TVM Capital Healthcare in Southeast Asia, commented: "This deal marks the most substantial investment by TVM Capital Healthcare in the region to date. We look forward to working closely with the management team of Alina Vision to execute our mutually agreed expansion plans. This investment is testament to our impact investment strategy, which is to design, build, and scale promising healthcare solutions that address patients' needs and fill market gaps, ultimately contributing to equal access to quality healthcare." 

Ian Wishart, CEO of the Fred Hollows Foundation, added: "We are very pleased to have TVM Capital Healthcare on board to support us and the Alina Management team in scaling the business to help reduce avoidable blindness in Vietnam and the region. Alina Vision already invests significant resources in recruiting and training Ophthalmologists, Optometrists and Nurses with our and Rohto's help. We can now enhance our efforts and execute on our growth plans."

About TVM Capital Healthcare: TVM Capital Healthcare is an emerging markets-focused healthcare private equity firm headquartered in Singapore and Dubai, with offices in Riyadh, Boston, Munich, and Ho Chi Minh City. The firm invests expansion and growth capital in healthcare companies with a focus on specialized and tech-enabled healthcare services, digital health solutions and platforms, as well as manufacturing companies in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and diagnostics. Investment and operating partners as well as a strong group of Senior Advisors have long-standing international track records in healthcare investing, active board work, contributions to strategy development and implementation, governance and ESG, healthcare M&A, initial public offerings and deep healthcare operations experience. The firm partners with local management teams to build domestic or regional sector champions and selectively backs companies from Europe or North America for expansion into the firm's target geographies. TVM Capital Healthcare's investment and operating approach combines strong commercial value creation and returns with responsible investing and a comprehensive ESG framework to build impactful, sustainable and well-governed companies, delivering excellent healthcare services. TVM Capital Healthcare is a U.N. PRI signatory^[1] since 2015, a longstanding member of GPCA^[2], a member of GIIN^[3], and 2X Global,^[4] a signatory of Ethical Principles in Healthcare (EPiHC^[5]) and Investors for Health (I4H), initiatives of the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank (IFC), promoting healthcare growth and ethical principles in healthcare to build transparent and resilient health systems. www.tvmcapitalhealthcare.com^[6] 

About Alina Vision: Alina Vision is a social enterprise that aims to address the rising demand for eye health services in the world's most underserved communities. By building a network of eye surgery centers, Alina is bringing an affordable model of eye care that is sustainable and equitable. https://www.alinavision.com^[7] 

About The Fred Hollows Foundation: Fred Hollows Foundation is an international development organization working in more than 25 countries. The Foundation trains and empowers local eye doctors, nurses and health workers to create a sustainable system of care in the communities that need it most. The Foundation's vision is for a world where no one is needlessly blind or vision impaired and works to make sure everyone has access to high quality, affordable eye health. For further details please visit: https://www.hollows.org^[8]. 

About Rohto Pharmaceutical: Rohto Pharmaceutical is a leading wellness focused pharmaceutical company which specializes in over the counter Ophthalmology, gastro-intestinal, skincare and functional food products. Rohto strives to be innovative in the fields of medicine and skincare products so that people all over the world can experience wellbeing for longer. For further details please visit: https://www.rohto.co.jp/global/^[9].

For media inquiries, please contact:

TVM Capital Healthcare/Alina Vision: Monika Schlesinger, schlesinger@tvmcapitalhealthcare.com, +49 1703602276^[10]PohLeng Yu, yu@tvmcapitalhealthcare.com^[11], +65 9751 7037

Fred Hollows Foundation:Esther Au, eau@hollows.org^[12]

References

1. ^{^} .N. PRI signatory (www.unpri.org)
2. ^{^} GPCA (www.globalprivatecapital.org)
3. ^{^} GIIN (thegiin.org)
4. ^{^} 2X Global, (www.2xglobal.org)
5. ^{^} EPiHC (www.epihc.org)
6. ^{^} www.tvmcapitalhealthcare.com (www.tvmcapitalhealthcare.com)
7. ^{^} https://www.alinavision.com (www.alinavision.com)
8. ^{^} https://www.hollows.org (www.hollows.org)
9. ^{^} https://www.rohto.co.jp/global/ (www.rohto.co.jp)
10. ^{^} schlesinger@tvmcapitalhealthcare.com (www.prnasia.com)
11. ^{^} yu@tvmcapitalhealthcare.com (www.prnasia.com)
12. ^{^} eau@hollows.org (www.prnasia.com)