INDIA – India’s largest e-pharmacy platform PharmEasy is preparing to file its draft papers by October before coming out with an IPO (Initial Public Offering) later in the fiscal year.
The development comes at a time when the company’s talks with Japan’s SoftBank for a new fundraise round have fizzled out.
PharmEasy’s IPO plans are in progress but it is still in talks with new investors, negotiating a fundraise of US$200 – US$300 million at a valuation of approximately US$5.6 billion, sources have said.
Soon after acquiring diagnostic chain Thyrocare, PharmEasy has raised US$300 million from its existing investors. The funding will be used for the ongoing acquisition process of Thyrocare. Once the deal is complete the online pharmacy will aim to list the company on the Indian bourses.
Chief Executive of PharmEasy parent API Holdings Siddharth Shah led the negotiations for Thyrocare acquisition. He said that all options are being considered for the proposed listing but will be finalised only once the Thyrocare deal is officially closed.
The talks between SoftBank and PharmEasy, which have been in progress over the last few months, are stuck since the latter’s promoters are seeking a valuation of well over US$5 billion.
Founded by Shah, Dharmil Sheth, Dhaval Shah, Harsh Parekh and Hardik Dedhia in 2015, PharmEasy is currently valued at US$4 billion.
API Holding is currently working with Kotak Investment Banking and JM Financial for the DRHP, as the two banks had handled its purchase of diagnostics chain Thyrocare in June.
During the last few months, the company has raised more than US$650 million from investors such as B Capital, Prosus (formerly Naspers), TPG, and others.
US investment firm Tiger Global has already backed the online pharmacy and is in further talks to pump in more capital. Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital had picked a minority stake in API Holdings earlier this month, valuing the company at US$1.8 billion.
A Velumani, Thyrocare promoter invested Rs 1,500 crore to pick up a 5 per cent stake in the firm as part of the acquisition, valuing the e-pharmacy at US$4 billion.
These developments come at a time when the e-pharmacy space moved into the focus of the big leagues. Tata Group recently acquired PharmEasy rival 1mg, while Reliance Industries had picked a 60 per cent stake in Netmeds in 2020.
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