Deals Buzz: PharmEasy close to raising $120 million in equity funding
3 min read . Updated: 09 Jul 2019, 09:50 AM IST
PremiumIn other news, Kerala-based private lender CSB Bank, earlier known as The Catholic Syrian Bank Ltd, is set to file its draft initial public offering (IPO) papers
Mumbai: Mint brings you your dose of the top deals news, reported from newsrooms across the country
PharmEasy close to raising $120 million in equity funding
Online pharmacy firm PharmEasy is looking to close a $120 million round in equity funding in a month, from Canadian pension fund, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and LGT, the private banking and asset management group controlled by the Liechtenstein princely family, The Economic Times reported citing multiple sources aware of the development. Other investors such as venture capital firm Aspada and a Korean investment firm may also participate in the funding round that could value the company at about $500-600 million. The round, if it gets closed, will mark one of the largest deals in the country’s online pharma space. The investment will be made in the parent firm of PharmEasy, 91streets Media Technologies and comes a little more than three months after the online drugs retailer started the merger process with pharmaceutical distribution company Ascent Health and Wellness. Read more
Fairfax-backed CSB Bank set to file for up to ₹500 crore share sale
Kerala-based private lender CSB Bank, earlier known as The Catholic Syrian Bank Ltd, is set to file its draft initial public offering (IPO) papers, Mint reported citing two people aware of the development. Last year, Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa’s Fairfax acquired a 51% stake in CSB Bank for around $168 million, following the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) first such approval given to a foreign firm. The RBI also instructed the bank to list its shares by 30 September this year. The proposed share sale, expected largely to be an offer for sale by existing investors, may be around ₹500 crore in size. Axis Capital is advising the bank on the transaction. Read more
Go-Jek’s investment arm pumps $5 million in Faasos
Rebel Foods, formerly known as Faasos, may get investment of up to $5 million from Go Ventures, the investment arm of Indonesian ride hailing giant Go-Jek pumped $5 million in its ongoing series D round, The Economic Times reported citing regulatory filings sourced through company research platform, Tofler. The filing stated that the Pune-based cloud kitchen platform raised 667 Series D preference shares of face value ₹1,000 and 100 equity sharers of face value ₹10 from GV Bites Ltd for a total of 34.6 crore. The food delivery company, that operates several other brands such as Behrouz Biryani, Oven Story, Firangi Bake and Mandarin Oak, plans to expand its network of kitchens from 200 to 500, along with setting up its global expansion by venturing into Dubai and Indonesia. Read more
Walmart Labs acqui-hires two startups to bolster its customer service
Walmart Labs, the technology arm of the US retail giant, acqui-hired health tech startup FloCare and B2B wholesale trading platform BigTrade to for undisclosed amounts, in order to strengthen its customer service, Mint reported. Acqui-hires, common across big companies and startups, are typically made to acquire skilled teams, rather than for the product. Last year Walmart Labs acqui-hired Appsfly, followed by Inti.ai in December and DataTurk in February. As part of the latest transaction, some founders and team members of the two companies will join Walmart Labs in the customer and supply chain technology teams, respectively. Karthik G., Piyush Madan and Varsha Patil from FloCare who were part of the core engineering team have already joined the customer technology team at Walmart Labs. They will work in the health and wellness space and digitization of retail services. On the other hand, founders of BigTrade, Sunil Soni and Kiran Lingam have joined the supply chain technology team at Walmart Labs. Read more
US venture firm General Catalyst may invest in Cred in its first India bet
US-based venture capital fund General Catalyst may make its India debut with a small investment in fintech startup Cred, as part of its $120 million series B financing round, The Economic Times reported citing its sources. The global investor, which manages $3.75 billion in assets, has earlier invested in companies around the world such as Snap, Stripe and Airbnb. Existing investors, Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital and Yuri Milner’s Apolleto Asia, along with a new Chinese investor, Hillhouse Capital may also participate in the latest round. Cred — which is the second venture from Kunal Shah, the founder of mobile recharge platform Freecharge — is likely to be valued at $400-$500 million, less than a year of launch. This will be a substantial jump from the $75 million valuation it commanded in its previous round. Read more
