Online pharmaceutical platform PharmEasy’s parent business, API Holdings Ltd, has raised an unknown sum in debt from growth-stage finance company EvolutionX Debt Capital.
The shift occurred almost three months to the day after the e-pharmacy startup withdrew its IPO papers from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in August.
Invoking market circumstances and strategic reasons, PharmEasy has postponed its IPO ambitions. The business had stated at the time that it would instead seek capital from current shareholders through a rights issue.
Through its IPO, the company sought to raise $6,250 crore. With the money, the company intended to prepay or repay debt, support initiatives for organic expansion, and finance acquisition-related inorganic growth.
“This (debt raise) is part of a sequence of planned capital raises, to be followed by equity infusion in the company in the near term. This collective capital raise will optimize the capital structure as well as improve the net debt position and financial strength of the company, ensuring a clear runway to profitability,” said Siddharth Shah, co-founder and chief executive, API Holdings.
Dharmil Sheth and Dhaval Shah established PharmEasy in 2015 as a division of Ascent Health. Customers may also order diagnostic tests from the business in addition to medication delivery.
Through a statewide networked ecosystem, the company collaborates closely with pharmaceutical firms, distributors, pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, and diagnostic labs. More than 6 million individuals are reportedly transacting on it, together with over 150,000 active pharmacies and over 1,800 hospitals. Temasek and Prosus TPG are among their investors.
It is the first investment made by EvolutionX Debt Capital, which was founded in late 2021 by Temasek and DBS Bank, two state-owned holding companies in Singapore with a global presence in banking and finance.
