
KOCHI: DentCare Dental Lab, Asia’s largest and world’s second-largest dental lab, plans to acquire labs in the United States and open units across India in an effort to become the world leader in its field.
The company, valued at Rs 1,500 crore, is seeking to sell 10% equity to fund the proposal, chairman and managing director John Kuriakose said.
“We have decided to sell 10% equity to fund the expansion project. After 18 firms expressed interest in the stake in the initial stage, we have short-listed ICICI Capital, Wipro and Axis Bank. We will finalise our choice by February 10. Presently, we have five units in the country and we want to increase our presence to 30 centres. We have two units in the US and efforts are on to acquire some labs there.
The plan is to grow into a Rs 5,000 crore company by 2030, after which we will go for an IPO,” John said.
Headquartered in Muvattupuzha, DentCare is associated with 40,000 dentists across the country and makes 5,000 products a month.
Powered by a dedicated research and development wing, the company has production units in the United States, UK, UAE, Australia and New Zealand and extends services to 12 other countries.
With a state-of-the-art laboratory spread over 3 lakh sqft, and 4,200 employees, DentCare produces a range of 450 dental products.
Facing acute shortage of trained dental technicians, John established DentCare Institute of Dental Technology, which offers three-year bachelor’s degree courses. The company absorbs 50% of the students for its labs.