Pharmeasy to Acquire 66.1% Stake in Thyrocare for Inr 4,546 Crs From Dr A. Velumani and Affliates

Coming of Age: First Ever Acquisition of a Listed Company by an Indian Unicorn

Pharmeasy to Acquire 66.1% Stake in Thyrocare for Inr 4,546 Crs From Dr a. Velumani and Affiliates

Combined Entity Will Have the Ability to Provide Diagnostics and Pharmacy Services to 100mn+ Indians Within 24 Hours

Landmark Partnership to Bring Seamless, Tech-enabled Healthcare for Consumers, Doctors and Suppliers

Pharmeasy Strengthens Its Leadership Position as the Largest Digital Healthcare Brand in India.

(L to R) Mr. Siddharth Shah, Co. Founder & CEO, API Holdings Ltd _ shakes hands with Dr. A Velumani, Chairman & MD of Thyrocare after signing the agreement of acquisition.

Mumbai/Lonavala, 25 June, 2021: When it rains it pours. This is exactly what happened when the dynamic 32-year-old Siddharth Shah, Co-founder & CEO of API Holdings, met with 62-year-old, diagnostic services veteran Dr. A Velumani, Chairman of Thyrocare in monsoon drenched Lonavala over masala chai at the Thyrocare Chairman’s residence and a landmark deal was struck in record time.

API Holdings Ltd (API), the parent co. of India’s Largest Digital Healthcare Brand, (PharmEasy), founded by Dharmil Sheth, Dhaval Shah, Harsh Parekh, Hardik Dedhia and Siddharth Shah, today announced the signing of definitive documents to acquire 66.1% stake in Thyrocare Technologies Ltd (Thyrocare) from Dr. A Velumani and affiliates at a price of INR 1,300 per share aggregating to INR 4,546 crs.

The transaction is subject to regulatory and other applicable customary approvals. Docon Technologies Pvt Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of API, will be the acquirer and shall make an open offer for an additional 26% stake.

Dr. A Velumani will be separately acquiring a minority non-controlling stake, of less than 5% in API as part of a series of equity investments by existing and new investors of API.

PharmEasy is India’s #1 online pharmacy and diagnostics brand, RetailIO – India's largest B2B pharma marketplace & seller, and DocOn – a leading consultation and EMR platform. The company has a loyal base of 12mn+ consumers, network of 6,000+ digital consultation clinics and 90,000+ partner retailers across the country. It currently serves over 1mn patients for their pharmacy & diagnostics needs, conducts 300k+ consultations, and issues over 1mn digital prescriptions on a monthly basis.

Thyrocare is India’s #1 diagnostics solution provider by volume with over 110mn tests performed annually. It is the largest B2B player in the diagnostics space and has a network of 3,330+ collection centres across in 2,000+ towns in India. Thyrocare operates a multi-lab model with 1 mega central processing lab, 2 zonal processing labs and 13 regional processing labs across the country. Thyrocare operates with industry leading gross margins and its lean cost structures makes it one of the most efficiently run operations in the diagnostics space.

The collaboration between PharmEasy and Thyrocare is unique and transformative for the Indian healthcare sector, consumers and the entire healthcare ecosystem. The synergies of both, India’s largest digital health platform and one of the largest, cost-effective diagnostics solution providers (by volume) will reimagine and accelerate the delivery of high-quality diagnostic and OPD services across the full continuum of patient care to nearly 800mn Indians.

PharmEasy’s strong belief and commitment is to provide an integrated digital health platform which enables in democratizing quality healthcare to all Indians, and the company will leverage its deep technology expertise across every single part of the OPD value chain to achieve availability, affordability and accessibility for consumers.

On the addition of Thyrocare into its portfolio, Mr Siddharth Shah, CEO, API Holdings commented “We are delighted to be partnering Thyrocare. We will provide world class customer experience in diagnostics, rivalling our pharmacy experience by leveraging technology, and building on top of the massive scale & truly pan-India presence of Thyrocare. It is our aim to deliver all outpatient healthcare products & services to every Indian within 24 hours.”

Dr A. Velumani, Chairman & MD of Thyrocare, expressed “I am excited about this relationship, unique of its kind in Indian Healthcare Industry. The unique reach and strength of Thyrocare in Diagnostics blended with young and dynamic team of PharmEasy will bring in better healthcare solutions for common man nationwide.”

India, with one of the fastest growing digital economies and digitally nascent healthcare sector, is on an exponential growth trajectory addressing the demand to improve quality, accessibility and convenience. From ordering medicines online to tele consultations and now diagnostic.

services, amidst the pandemic there is a shift not only in consumer preferences but also the business approach and modus operandi by doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and clinics across the country.

About API Holdings: API Holdings is India’s largest and fully integrated digital healthcare company. Over the last few years, API has grown rapidly to build its presence across the entire OPD value chain serving consumers and pharmacy retailers for their needs for pharmaceutical & OTC products, doctor consultation and diagnostics services. It operates leading brands like PharmEasy, RetailIO, DocOn and has a robust presence across the length and breadth of the country.

About Thyrocare: Thyrocare is India's first fully automated accredited diagnostic laboratory with a focus on providing quality at affordable costs to laboratories and hospitals in India and other countries. It operates with a Centralized Processing Laboratory (CPL) in Mumbai - India for esoteric tests; and Regional Processing Laboratory in major metro cities of India and other parts of Asia.

API Holding’s advisory was led by JM Financial as the M&A Advisor and Manager to the Open Offer, and Kotak Investment Banking as the M&A Advisor and Advisor to the Open Offer. Iqbal Khan (Senior Partner) and Ambarish (Partner) from Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. and Ashwath Rau (Senior Partner), Anand Shah (Senior Partner) and Pranav Atit (Partner) from AZB & Partners are acting as the counsels on M&A and Open Offer. Nisha Kaur Uberoi (Senior Partner) from Trilegal is acting as the Lead Counsel on Competition Law to API Holdings. In addition, BCG provided Strategy & Management Consulting advice, EY was the Financial & Tax Due Diligence advisor and Katalyst Advisors was special advisor on the deal.

PharmEasy Launches 'Go Corona Go' Initiative to Empower Vaccine Takers

The COVID-19 vaccine is finally here and is now available to the senior citizens (above 60 years of age) and people above 45 years of age with co-morbidities in its second phase. Vaccinating this group of people is extremely critical at this stage and the government is doing a fantastic job in it. 

 
PharmEasy, India’s leading e-pharmacy brand, wanted to extend its support to the Government of India in its COVID vaccination drive. And thus, launched its campaign, ‘Go Corona Go Initiative’, where it will be offering a token of appreciation to every user who has got vaccinated. Basically, PharmEasy is on the lookout for SUPERHEROES who will help make India COVID-free. This will be a small step but will help accelerate the vaccination drive. 
 
With this campaign, PharmEasy wants to encourage more and more people to get vaccinated and keep themselves and people around them safe. For every vaccine taken by a citizen, PharmEasy would be giving a flat Rs 150 PharmEasy cash in the wallet to the users that can be used on their next medicine order.
 
Any individual who has opted for this vaccination can avail this benefit in 3 simple steps: 
Click here to register > Upload proof of vaccination (appointment email/certificate) > Get Rs 150 PharmEasy cash in PharmEasy wallet. This is going to be a month-long campaign. With this initiative, PharmEasy not only wants to celebrate the superheroes who have already taken the shot, but also intends to motivate others to do the same. 
 
Talking about this initiative, Dharmil Sheth, Co-founder of PharmEasy, said, “The government is doing a fantastic job in tackling the COVID-19 situation with its vaccination drive now in full swing. We thought that the ‘Go Corona Go’ Initiative would be our humble attempt to encourage the masses to get vaccinated.”
 
Adding to this, Dr. Dhaval Shah, Co-founder of PharmEasy said, “Presently, the second phase of vaccination has opened up for people over the age of 60, and the ones above 45 with co-morbidities. In our eyes, they are the real superheroes, who are bravely stepping out to get vaccinated and helping us put an end to the pandemic. A huge shout out to every vaccine taker out there. Together, we can beat COVID-19!"

Pharmeasy Raises $50 million in Series C Funding from Eight Roads Ventures India

Mumbai headquartered online healthcare and pharma aggregator Pharmeasy has raised $50 million (~ Rs.364 Crores) in Series C funding from Eight Roads Ventures India, the proprietary investment arm of Fidelity International Ltd. The round is largest of all three rounds raised till date by the startup.

The other investors are F-Prime Capital, Nandan Nilakeni, Sanjeev Aggarwal-backed Fundamentum Partnership and San Francisco-based hedge fund Think Investments.

Existing investors BVP also participated in this round which was run by investment banking firm Avendus. With this round, the total fund raised by Pharmeasy stands at $75 million. Its earlier investors include BVP, Orios Venture Partners, Aarin Capital and MEMG.

Founded in 2015 by Dharmil Sheth and Dhaval Shah, Pharmeasy connects patients to local pharmacies and diagnostic centres through an integrated online platform, making healthcare accessible and affordable across India via quick and efficient doorstep delivery and savings on their healthcare needs.

Pharmeasy will use the funds to expand the consumer base, improve the technology and expand into more cities. “The way we have grown in the last three years, more than 200% YOY is testament to the fact that affordable and accessible healthcare is very much possible,” the company’s founder, Dhaval Shah, said.

Dharmil Sheth, co-founder of Pharmeasy, said, “It has always been our aim to make healthcare affordable and accessible to everyone. And the new funding will only push us closer to achieving this goal, helping us change the healthcare ecosystem in the country. We plan to use this funds to strengthen our tech capabilities in operations and also in ensuring that we are able to provide personalised healthcare solutions to the consumers.’’

Pharmeasy provides e-consultation and at-home diagnostic tests, medicine dosage reminders and an automated medicine refill subscription service. It also specialises in chronic care segment, forming a significant part of its scope of services.

The startup is also working on industry wide issues which revolve around eliminating fake medicines from the system by scrupulously validating prescriptions and barcoding every drug in its inventory to establish their genuineness. Currently, the company is delivering affordable and authentic healthcare solutions to more than 22000 pin codes.

Just a few weeks back, Chennai-based NetMeds hasd too raised $35 million in Series C funding round, which was followed by acquisition of telemedicine app JustDoc.

In June, New Delhi-based healthcare technology startup Navia Life Care Pvt. had raised $100,000 in a a bridge round of funding from existing investor Benori Ventures and angel investors.

In May, Mumbai-based home healthcare services aggregator HealWell24 raised $200,000 in Pre-Series A round of funding from bunch of angel investors including Prashant Mehta, Mitali Pawar, Nikhil G and Bhavesh P, members of Indian Cooperative Oncology Network (ICON), and R Ranganathan

Last November, Mumbai based Instinct Innovations has raised a seed round of funding led by Vida Ventures and Dr. Aniruddha Malpani for its artificial intelligence (AI) enabled Redbook platform.