Matrix Partners India invests in Hearing Plus

Kolkata, India '“ August 12th, 2013: Matrix Partners India today announced that it has picked up significant minority stake in Hearing Plus, an audiology and speech therapy chain.

Mr. Somenath Mukherjee, Founder and Managing Director said "After graduating from NIHH, I realized that the diagnosis of hearing disability and penetration of hearing aids in India is less than a 10th of developed economies. As social taboo related to wearing hearing aids wanes, I founded Hearing Plus to address patient needs with focus on affordability and convenience. From Kolkata in 2006, we see ourselves as Pan India network by 2015. I strongly believe that partnering with Matrix Partners India will give us the necessary edge to scale rapidly'.

"Hearing disability is amongst the most common but easily addressable ailment. We believe that Hearing Plus' approach to address access, awareness and affordability will go a long way to improve quality of life of millions. Hearing Plus will be a stellar addition to MPI's single specialty portfolio', said Asish Mohapatra, Director, Matrix India.

A single center up until 2012, Hearing Plus currently has 15 clinics in East India. The chain plans to expand its operations across the country to over 100 clinics. Hearing Plus has just started operations in Mumbai and will focus on expanding in metros now.

About Hearing Plus:
Hearing Plus is a leading audiology and speech therapy chain in East India and is head quartered in Kolkata. Mr. Somenath Mukherjee along with his 10 classmates started Hearing Plus in 2006, and started growing rapidly from 2012. Famous in audiology as '˜Hearing Plus' and speech therapy as '˜Speech Plus', the brands are synonymous with accurate and ethical diagnosis, strong after sales support, affordable price points and customer convenience like providing home care. Further information is available on www.hearingplus.in

About Matrix Partners India:
Matrix Partners India is an investment firm with INR 3,000 crore under management. The firm invests in companies targeting the Indian consumer market at the seed, early and early growth stages. In healthcare, the firm has invested in several market leading companies/ chains like Centre for Sight (eye care), Cloudnine (maternity and infant care), Mewar Ortho (orthopedic care), Enhance (cosmetology), Meditrina (interventional cardiology) and Techmed (hospital lab management). It has also invested in other category leading companies such as Mswipe (mobile POS), LimeRoad (mobile social commerce), Ola (online cab aggregator), Quikr (online classifieds), TreeHouse Education (preschools), Chumbak (design led consumer products), Newshunt (vernacular mobile platform) and W (women's ethnic wear) among others. It has a global network of funds investing in the US, China and India with US $3 billion under management. Further information is available at www.matrixpartners.in