Online pharmacy PharmEasy has acquired cloud-based hospital supply chain management startup Aknamed in a largely stock deal worth about $180-$190 million, multiple sources aware of the development said.
The transaction also involved a small cash outgo, the sources added.
Bengaluru-based Akanamed offers procurement solutions to over 1,200 hospitals, including Manipal Hospitals, Columbia Asia, and Narayana Health.
The acquisition, which is similar to its purchase of Thyrocare in June, is part of the Mumbai-based company’s plans to position itself as a broader online healthcare firm, diversifying from being just an online medicine delivery platform.
All the founders of Aknamed will get shares in PharmEasy’s parent entity API Holdings and additional stock options, the sources said. The deal comes ahead of a planned Initial Public Offering by API Holdings, which will file its draft IPO papers by next month.
Lightrock (part of the LGT Group), a common investor in both firms, will see its stake increase in API Holdings as part of the deal, the sources added.
“It’s PharmEasy’s company now and the founders are getting stock in API Holdings besides the ESOPs (employee stock ownership plans) as performance-based incentive ahead of the planned IPO,” a person briefed on the matter said.
Aknamed’s monthly revenue run-rate grew 10 times by the end of the previous financial year, the sources said.
ET reported on September 14 that PharmEasy was finalising a $200 million primary fund infusion from US-based and Southeast Asian investors, following which it would be valued at around $6 billion. It was valued at $4.2 billion in June.
Aknamed was founded by Saurabh Pandey and Mahadevan Narayanmoni in 2018, with Mayank Kapoor, Shaunak Joshi and Varun Vohra joining the company as cofounders a little later.
Pandey did not respond to ET’s email, while Siddharth Shah, co-founder and chief executive of API Holdings, declined to comment.
Aknamed’s founders are likely to continue running the company along with the founder group at PharmEasy in the near term.
In May, Aknamed had acquired Vardhman Health for about $35 million and was also reportedly in talks to raise fresh capital from investors.
