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Max India to invest $11 m in two US infotech firms

Our Bureau

NEW DELHI, April 13

PHARMA major Max India Ltd (Max) has chalked out a Rs. 125-crore investment plan to enter the $350-billion American healthcare IT sector and the $145-billion B2B e-commerce market.

``The investment will be made over a period of next two years,'' Mr. Vivek Jetley, Managing Director, Max, told newspersons here on Thursday.

To start with, the company is investing $11 millions to acquire equity in two US-based software companies - MindCrossing Inc. and AltaCast L.L.C. While MindCrossing is an infrastructure and content provider, AltaCast is an advanced information solutions company.

Max will invest $7 millions for a 22 per cent stake in AltaCast and $4 millions for a 15 per cent stake in MindCrossing. The company is also investing $3 millions to set up Max MindCrossing India Ltd (MMIL), a 51:49 joint venture between Max and MindCros sing, to develop software solutions and Web-enabled services for the Indian and the US markets.

``Max's strength is its ability to forge and run successful joint ventures that have led to profitable businesses. Therefore, our strategy in the IT sector is going to be through partnering, developing and supporting IT corporations that provide path-bre aking software solutions which will grow and expand the market,'' Mr. Jetley said.

AltaCast's wholly-owned subsidiary `HealthCast' is an advanced healthcare solutions company dedicated to improving access to critical patient care. HealthCast's products focus on bringing complex legacy systems to user-friendly Graphic User Interface (GU I)-driven desk-tops and Web-enabled access that allow the sharing of knowledge within the enterprise and on the Net.

HealthCast has successfully implemented its solutions in two hospital chains and with their current product portfolio can address about 1,200 US hospitals.

MindCrossing provides the infrastructure for rapid development of portals and exchanges. The company is a collection of enabling mechanism that comprise of MindStores (aggregates service providers and expertise in vertical segments), MindStreaming (activ ates expertise relevant for buyers to make informed decisions) and MindCircles (allow knowledge to be shared with similar communities).