TPG Growth V eyes PharmEasy holding co as its first India investment

TPG Growth, the growth capital arm of San Francisco, California based private equity firm TPG Global, has sought Indian antitrust regulator’s approval to invest in a local online pharmacy services provider.

Through its fifth fund, TPG Growth V SF Markets, the investor seeks to acquire about 7% of equity shareholding at API Holdings that is the parent company of PharmEasy.

PharmEasy co-founder Dhaval Shah did not respond to TechCircle’s request for comment on the size of the proposed deal. The proposed investment, if cleared by the Competition Commision of India (CCI), will be TPG Growth V’s first investment in India.

The Singapore registered fund held a target corpus of $4 billion, late July, according to multiple reports citing documents from the Washington State Investment Board.

“The investment represents a good opportunity for the Acquirer to invest and participate in the long-term growth of the market for wholesale sale and distribution of drugs in India,” TPG said in its proposal to CCI.

API Holdings, the proposal added, will use the potential financing to deepen its distribution network across India and build innovative technology-first products to connect the entire ecosystem and give affordable access to healthcare across India.

The company carries out wholesale sale and distribution of drugs, transportation and delivery services, ecommerce and telemedicine platform operations, directly or through its subsidiaries.

It was incorporated in 2019 to house the merged entity of PharmEasy and Ascent Health and Wellness Solutions. PharmEasy is currently operated by 91Streets Media Technologies.

The Mumbai-based startup recently got a merger approval from CCI.

Founded in 2015 by Shah and Dharmil Sheth, PharmEasy connects patients with chemist shops. In its last known fundraising, it secured $220 million from Temasek Holdings.

Global firm TPG’s popular investments in the recent include homestay service Airbnb, and music streaming provider Spotify. Its portfolio, in India, includes Reliance Industries’ retail arm and telecom arm, fantasy gaming platform Dream11, and omnichannel automobile servicing platform Pitstop.