Online pharmacy PharmEasy’s parent company, API Holdings, is in talks to raise a substantial amount of money to repay its debt.

What Happened? According to details shared with Moneycontrol, API Holdings had previously pledged shares from its promoted company, Thyrocare, as collateral for this debt.

Insiders say that Manipal Group is considering an investment of approximately ₹1,000 crore for an 18% stake in API Holdings. As part of this potential deal, Manipal Group may also earn a seat on the API Holdings’ board.

Additionally, current investors of API Holdings are reportedly planning to pitch in about ₹1,500 crore in a funding round led by the Manipal Group.

If these investments proceed as discussed, API Holdings’ valuation would be around ₹6,000 crore for this funding round. API Holdings urgently needs to repay a debt of ₹2,500 crore, which it secured using shares from Thyrocare as collateral to Goldman Sachs.

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The company is under pressure to address this debt to protect its financial position and avoid lenders seizing the pledged shares.

Private equity giants Temasek and TPG Capital, common investors in both Manipal Group’s healthcare business and API Holdings, also have a crucial role in orchestrating this deal. Experts note that the inclusion of the Manipal Group as a strategic investor could benefit API Holdings with capital infusion and valuable expertise.

However, observers highlight a potential drop in valuation from $2.8 billion (₹23,034 crore) to around ₹6,000 crore, indicating challenging times ahead for digital commerce companies.

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