PharmEasy, the only healthcare unicorn startup in India, is the nation's largest online pharmacy and diagnostics brand. It operates a business-to-business pharma marketplace with over 6,000 consultation clinics with 90,000 partner retailers across the South Asian nation PharmEasy intends to use the IPO proceeds to invest in three core areas, including marketing and promotional activities, supply chain infrastructure and fulfillment, and for upgrading its tech infrastructure.

API Holdings, the parent company of online pharmacy start-up PharmEasy, has filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator Sebi for a Rs 6,250-crore public offering. API Holdings, which owns an umbrella of brands including PharmEasy, Thyrocare, Docon, Retailio, and Aknamed, plans to raise Rs 6,250 crore in fresh equity shares in its proposed IPO.

The online pharmacy start-up was last valued at $5.6 billion (Rs 42,197.79 crore) in a Rs 2,635.22-crore pre-IPO round in October.

The start-up also plans to issue a pre-IPO placement offer which will be undertaken through consultation with the book running lead managers for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 1,250 crore. If the pre-IPO placement is undertaken, the issue size will be reduced by the amount raised from the pre-IPO placement and the minimum Issue size. “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 start-up said in its DRHP.

Morgan Stanley India, BoFA Securities India, Kotak Mahindra Capital, JM Financial and Citigroup Global Markets India are appointed as lead bankers for the IPO. PharmEasy intends to use the IPO proceeds to invest in three core areas, including marketing and promotional activities, supply chain infrastructure and fulfillment, and for upgrading its tech infrastructure. Around Rs 1,929 crore will be used by PharmEasy for prepayment or repayment of all or a portion of certain outstanding borrowings availed by the company and some of its subsidiaries. It also plans to use Rs 1,259 crore for funding organic growth initiatives and Rs 1,500 crore for acquisitions and other strategic initiatives.

The pharmacy start-up reported revenues of Rs 2,335.26 crore during the financial year ended March 31, 2021, a 3X increase compared with Rs 667.54 crore reported in FY20. Its losses stood at Rs 641.33 crore in FY21 against Rs 335.27-crore losses reported in FY20. PharmEasy said it does not have an identifiable promoter. Some of its largest investors include South African Internet holding firm Naspers and Singaporean investment firm Temasek which hold 12.04% and 10.8% shares, respectively.

Founded in 2015 by Dharmil Sheth and Dhaval Shah, PharmEasy currently claims to connect more than 60,000 brick-and-mortar pharmacies and 4,000 doctors across 16,000 zip codes across the country. The start-up also claims to have served more than 20 million customers.
To date, PharmEasy has raised over $1.2 billion in equity and debt funding and its last significant deal was the $600-million acquisition of diagnostics chain Thyrocare in June this year. PharmEasy was also the first unicorn in the online pharmacy start-up, achieving the coveted status in April 2021.