Exclusive: PharmEasy raises $216 Mn led by MEMG at $710 Mn valuation
Summary
API Holdings, the parent company of online drug dispenser PharmEasy, has raised Rs 1,804 crore ($216 million) led by Ranjan Pais Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG) and existing investors. CDPQ Private Equity, WSSS Investments, Goldman Sachs, and Evolution Debt Capital cumulatively participated with Rs 400 crore in the new investment.The company will further convert the CCPSissued into equity shares in the ratio of (1:20), the filings added.As per TheKredibles estimates, the company has been valued at around Rs 5,904 crore or $710 million (post-allotment). This is a nearly 90% haircut in valuation of PharmEasy which was once valued at $5.6 billion in 2021.Last month, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) cleared Ranjan Pais investment in PharmEasy.The Mumbai-based firm has been trying to raise around Rs 3,500 crore since August last year to repay debt which it took from Goldman Sachs. Neuberger Berman also cut PharmEasys valuation by 21.4% to $4.4 billion as of February 2023.The Dharmil Shah-led company is also among a list of startups which postponed its IPO plan after filing draft papers with market regulator SEBI. Its a salutary lesson for many other startups, and the only silver lining is that the firm itself has survived, hopefully to get a second chance at making history.