PharmEasy to raise Rs 2,000 cr-Rs 3,000 cr via rights issue: Report

API Holdings, the parent of online pharmacy major PharmEasy, will opt for a rights issue of Rs 2,000 crore-Rs 3,000 crore, said a report on Tuesday. This was decided at an all-investor meeting held on July 17.

API Holdings, which has been engaged in fundraising discussions with potential investors to repay its debt, has approved the Manipal Group's binding proposal to invest the shortfall amount if all investors do not end up participating, CNBC-TV18 reported.  

Earlier, it was reported that Manipal Group has offered to invest approximately Rs 1,300 crore for an 18 per cent stake in API Holdings, which has to repay a debt of about Rs 2,500 crore.  

PharmEasy had borrowed $285 million from private equity firm Goldman Sachs to pay off an earlier debt it had incurred from Kotak Mahindra Bank to buy Thyrocare. In June 2021, API Holdings acquired 66 per cent stake in Thyrocare for Rs 4,546 crore.

Last month, it was reported that PharmEasy had breached the loan convent terms after failing to raise equity. API Holdings had pledged the shares of its subsidiary Thyrocare to Goldman Sachs as collateral for this debt.  

Depending on the amount of funds raised now, the post-money valuation of the company is expected to be around Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 crore, which is way below its previous fundraise that valued PharmEasy at $2.8 billion.

PharmEasy was started in 2015 by Siddharth Shah, Dhaval Shah, Dharmil Sheth, Harsh Parekh and Hardik Dedhia. The company has so far raised $1.2 billion in funding.

Also read: PharmEasy’s $5.5 bn valuation was not wise but acquisitions will bail company out, say experts

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