MC EXCLUSIVE Temasek enters exclusive talks for minority stake in Romsons Group at around $1bn valuation

Temasek (Courtesy: Reuters file photo)

Singapore investment giant Temasek has edged ahead of other private equity suitors and entered exclusive negotiations to pick up a minority stake in Agra-based leading disposable medical devices and consumables maker Romsons Group, multiple industry sources in the know told Moneycontrol.

Set up in 1952 by Ram Lal Khanna, family-run Romsons Group pioneered the concept of disposable medical and surgical devices in India as a safer alternative to tackle infections.

"The exclusivity period is going on along with due diligence and Temasek is the lead contender and is keen on picking up a minority stake between 15-20 per cent for around $200 million, valuing the Romsons Group at around a $1 billion," said one of the persons above.

This person added that the ongoing talks may or may not necessarily fructify into an eventual transaction and other suitors may re-enter the race later if required. As per previous media reports, Warburg Pincus and TA Associates had also expressed interest in the deal.

According to a second person, "If talks proceed, this will mark the first external fund raise for the firm and would provide growth capital to approach new markets as well as aid in potential inorganic activity.  As part of the proposed transaction, the plan is also to conduct an internal restructuring exercise to consolidate various entities of the Romsons Group, which has a large, impressive product portfolio and a significant global presence ."

A third person familiar with the ongoing negotiations said, "From the private equity perspective, there are only a handful of assets in the medical devices market, which are scaled up and this is one of them. Also, a global, influential partner like Temasek will help when there are growth ambitions beyond India."

A fourth person also confirmed that Temasek was a front-runner for the deal.

All the four persons above spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.

When contacted, Temasek said, "We decline to comment on market speculation."

An email query sent to Romsons Group remained unanswered at the time of publishing this article. Multiple reminders have been sent and this article will be updated as soon as we hear from the firm.

On July 4, Himanshu Baid, the Managing Director of Poly Medicure Ltd (Polymed), a listed peer of Romsons Group told Moneycontrol in an interview that the firm is set to significantly expand its global footprint, driven by new manufacturing facilities, strategic mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and an aggressive push into key export markets like the United States and Europe.

At the end of day's trade on October 17, the firm had a market cap of Rs 19,270.63 crore or $2.19 billion.

Previous deals in the medical devices segment include ADIA-Meril, Everstone-Translumina , Samara Capital-SMT and Warburg Pincus- Appaswamy Associates

Closer look at Romsons Group

Established as 'Romsons Scientific and Surgical Industries' in Amritsar with an initial capital of Rs 10,000, the firm led by late Ram Lal Khanna and his sons , started by manufacturing scientific and laboratory equipment, according to the official website.

Today it is a global player present in 80 plus countries with over 1,500 distributors, the website adds.

The LinkedIn profile of Romsons Group says that the firm has the largest product portfolio in the industry ( 100 products in over 400 sizes). As per its website, the group operates in segments like anaesthesia, urology, surgery, transfusion, gastroenterology , cardiac, patient care, ortho care and miscellaneous with products ranging from catheters, needles and blood pressure monitors to masks, suction sets and diapers.

Temasek: Focus on family-owned businesses

On July 14, 2025 in an interview to Moneycontrol, Ravi Lambah, Head (Strategic Initiatives) and Head (India) at the investment major likes to thematically focus on family-owned businesses. Incidentally, Romsons Group falls in the same category.

"We find families and us have a lot of alignment in certain things that come together quite well. One is the fact that families are very long-term in their outlook, and we have long capital. We are flexible; we don’t have a fund life. So we can invest for the long term. Families are looking for value beyond just capital. We have a large portfolio that we own in India and outside, so we can bring learnings from there, whether it’s processes, whether it’s governance practices and technology learning," Lambah told Moneycontrol.

In terms of sectoral priorities going ahead, Lambah added, "So healthcare I think is important to us; consumer continues to be important to us. I would say consumer with consumer -tech. And then, financial services."

Temasek which has a controlling stake in IPO-bound Manipal Hospitals and recently acquired Sahyadri Hospitals, has also picked up a minority stake of around 9 per cent in family-owned top snacks maker Haldiram at a valuation of around 10 bn, making it the country's biggest ever private equity consumer transaction.

On January 7, 2025, Moneycontrol was the first to report that Temasek had emerged as the front-runner for a stake buy in the top snacks maker .