Business
India’s largest online pharmacy PharmEasy eyes USD 9 billion valuation via IPO: Report
India’s largest Online pharmacy PharmEasy, is planning to raise $1 billion in its initial public offering at a valuation of $9 billion, Livemint reported. The online drug store will raise the entire amount by selling new shares, as none of its existing shareholders, including its founders and investors, will be selling their shares in the IPO, the report says quoting people aware of the matter.
Prosus Ventures, TPG Growth, CDPQ and Temasek are among the top investors of PharmEasy, which is owned by API Holdings Private Limited. The growth potential of e-pharmacy has already drawn Tata and Reliance into the online pharmacy business. The entire proceeds of the listing will be used to pursue growth opportunities, the report said. The company has already hired Morgan Stanley and Kotak Mahindra Capital as advisors for the IPO process.
Founded by Dharmil Sheth and Dhaval Shah in 2015, PharmEasy’s valuation has trebled in last four months thanks to its back to back acquisitions. In June, the e-pharma acquired about 66.1% stake in A Velumani-led Thyrocare Technologies for ₹4,546 crore ($612 million). The e-pharmacy startup has paid about ₹1,300 per share. Pharmeasy had last raised money in April this year, when it sealed a USD 323 million-round at a valuation of USD 1.5 billion.
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In May, PharmEasy completed the acquisition of smaller rival Medlife to become India’s largest online pharmacy and healthcare aggregator. With a Pan-India presence, PharmEasy currently delivers medicines in more than 1,000 cities in the country and offers diagnostic test services across all major cities and towns. It has so far delivered more than 15 million orders from medicine to diagnostic kits to health care products, serving over 5 million families, according to its website. According to a report by consultant EY, the e-pharma space is estimated to grow at an annual average growth rate of 18.1% to reach $18.1 billion by 2023.
