Online pharmacy Medlife raises $6.8 million in debt

Medlife International, which owns and operates an eponymous online healthcare startup, has raised $6.8 million in debt from New Delhi-based Ivy Icon Solutions.

The Bengaluru-based startup has allotted 50 compulsorily convertible debentures at Rs 1 crore per debenture, leading up to Rs 50 crore, to Ivy Icon, according to regulatory filings. 

In July, the firm raised Rs 168 crore ($22.9 crore at the time) by allotting 3,27,373 equity shares to Prasid Uno Family Trust, the investment vehicle of  Medlife co-founder Tushar Kumar. The Kumar and Prashant Singh founded firm also allotted 16,871 optionally convertible redeemable preference shares at Rs 100 per share and a premium of 11,754 to the family trust in February, aggregating to Rs 19,99,88,834.

In June, the online pharmacy offered 100 non-convertible debentures at a face value of Rs 10,00,000 per share, amounting to a total of Rs 10 crore, to SC Credit Fund, it added.

In March, the six-year-old company raised about $21 million from Hero Fincorp.

The latest development comes at a time when Medlife and Mumbai-based online drug delivery platform PharmEasy have sought approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for a potential merger of their businesses. 

The online pharmacy sector is seeing consolidation with the entry of new players, including ecommerce major Amazon and oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries (RIL). 

This month, RIL acquired a majority equity stake in Vitalic Health, which owns and operates online pharmacy player, Netmeds. Around the same time, Amazon forayed into the segment with Amazon Pharmacy to home deliver prescription-based and over-the-counter medicines, health devices and Ayurveda medication.