PharmEasy finishes pre-IPO funding round at $5.6 billion valuation
Online drugstore chain PharmEasy has reportedly raised nearly $350 million in its latest round of financing ahead of filing its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) before an initial public offering (IPO).
According to a report, which cited the regulatory documents and people familiar with the matter, the digital healthcare startup has raised about $204 million (more than Rs 1,505 crore) in primary funding from Singapore’s Amansa Capital, Blackstone-backed hedge fund ApaH Capital, US hedge fund Janus Henderson, OrbiMed, Steadview Capital, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ, and among others.
In April this year, the online pharmacy chain had raised around $350 million (about Rs 2,570 crore) from Prosus Ventures (formerly Naspers) and TPG Growth at a valuation of $1.5 billion, becoming the first Indian e-pharmacy unicorn - privately held startups valued at or over $1 billion.
Citing unidentified sources, the financial daily mentioned that API Holdings Ltd, the parent of PharmEasy, has also closed a $130-140 million secondary share sale. Around 20 top executives have acquired shares worth $5 million as part of the secondary sale, giving a thumbs-up to the proposed listing on the bourses.
It has been reported that Amansa and others were fully supporting PharmEasy ahead of its market debut.
Also, early investors and angel investors have offloaded their stakes in the Bengaluru-based online medicine and healthcare products retailer, while IIFL’s tech fund has also bought shares.
More important, PharmEasy founders have picked up shares worth about $40 million in the secondary sale, the daily said citing sources. The above-mentioned investors have also bought secondary shares besides their primary investment.
Worth mentioning here is that in secondary share sale transactions, existing investors sell their stakes to new investors and the money does not come into the company chests. However, details of the secondary share sale were not available in the regulatory filings.
So far in the calendar year, with the close of the third major financing round, the company’s total fundraising climbed to $1 billion including secondary funding amid record amounts of funds being infused into startups leading the digital economy.
Barring the latest fundraise, the company has mopped up about $650 million since April. Following the pre-listing round, API Holdings’ post-money valuation has soared to $5.6 billion.