In a Rs 2,635.22-crore pre-IPO round in October, the online pharmacy start-up was valued at $5.6 billion (Rs 42,197.79 crore). On Monday, Sebi gave final approval to API Holdings, the parent company of online pharmacy startup PharmEasy, to generate Rs 6,250 crore through an initial public offering (IPO).
API Holdings, which owns PharmEasy, Thyrocare, Docon, Retailio, and Aknamed, has filed draft papers for an initial public offering (IPO) in November 2021 to collect Rs 6,250 crore in new equity shares.
The Mumbai-based firm is a complete, end-to-end provider of healthcare solutions for customers, including digital tools and information on sickness and wellness, tele-consultation, diagnostics and radiology testing, and delivery of treatment protocols, including items and devices.
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The startup also intends to make a pre-IPO placement offer for an amount not exceeding Rs 1,250 crore, which will be done in consultation with the book running lead managers. The issue size will be lowered by the amount raised from the pre-IPO placement and the minimum issue size if the pre-IPO placement is done.
“The issue so reduced by the amount raised from the pre-IPO placement shall constitute at least 10% of the post-issue paid-up equity share capital of our company,” the startup stated in its DRHP in November 2021.
API Holdings intends to use Rs 1,929 crore of the IPO proceeds to repay or settle debt and Rs 1,259 crore to fund organic development efforts, in addition to committing Rs 1,500 crore to inorganic growth options such as acquisitions and other strategic initiatives.
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During the financial year ended March 31, 2021, the pharmacy startup reported revenues of Rs 2,335.26 crore, up from Rs 667.54 crore in FY20. In FY21, it lost Rs 641.33 crore, compared to Rs 335.27 crore in FY20.
According to PharmEasy, there is no recognized promoter. Naspers, a South African Internet holding company, and Temasek, a Singaporean investment corporation, are two of its top shareholders, with 12.04 percent and 10.8 percent shares, respectively.
PharmEasy, which was founded in 2015 by Dharmil Sheth and Dhaval Shah, claims to connect more than 60,000 pharmacies and 4,000 doctors throughout 16,000 zip codes across the country. According to the company, it has served more than 20 million customers. The healthcare firm PharmEasy has raised over $1.2 billion in equity and debt investment to date, with its most recent significant acquisition being the $600-million takeover of diagnostics chain Thyrocare in June of this year.
In April 2021, PharmEasy became the first unicorn in the online pharmacy startup category.
