 "PharmEasy")
PharmEasy, the online pharmacy startup, has secured Rs 1,804 crore ($216 million) in a funding round led by Ranjan Pai's Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG) along with other existing investors.
A report by Entrackr indicates that the funding round was completed at a valuation haircut of around 90 per cent, valuing the company at $710 million. Previously, the online drug dispenser had been valued at $5.6 billion in 2021.
The participants in PharmEasy's latest funding round included MEMG's family office, which contributed Rs 800 crore, while Prosus, Temasek, and 360 One Portfolios contributed Rs 221 crore, Rs 183 crore, and Rs 200 crore, respectively. CDPQ Private Equity, WSSS Investments, Goldman Sachs, and Evolution Debt Capital invested a total of Rs 400 crore.
Entrackr also reports that the Mumbai-based firm has been attempting to raise Rs 3,500 crore since August 2023 to repay the debt incurred from Goldman Sachs. In June 2023, PharmEasy defaulted on its loan terms with Goldman Sachs.
Around the same period, the company's valuation was reduced by nearly 50 per cent by its investor, Janus Henderson. This was followed by a further reduction by Neuberger Berman, who cut PharmEasy's valuation by 21.4 per cent to $4.4 billion as of February 2023.
PharmEasy was founded in 2015 by Dharmil Sheth, Dhaval Shah, Harsh Parekh, Siddharth Shah, and Hardik Dedhia. It was among the startups planning an initial public offering (IPO). However, it postponed its IPO plans after filing the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in November 2021. The listing plan was later withdrawn in August 2022 due to challenging market conditions.
