Flipkart Health Pvt Ltd, a newly-created entity within the Flipkart Group, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in online pharmacy and digital health platform SastaSundar Marketplace Ltd, that owns and operates SastaSundar.com, the companies said in a joint statement.
Ajay Veer Yadav, Senior Vice President and Flipkart veteran, will head Flipkart Health+, as it will be known.
The deal size was not disclosed.
The new entity will start by offering e-pharmacy services and add new healthcare verticals, such as e-diagnostics and e-consultation, going forward.
In the last fundraising round in 2019, SastaSundar was valued at $125 million, a TechCrunch news article said.
SastaSundar last raised Rs 100 crore from Mitsubishi Corporation in November 2019.
Japan’s Rohto Pharmaceuticals invested a total of $10 million in SastaSundar in 2017 and 2019. “The consumer internet ecosystem in India is growing rapidly as consumers recognise the opportunities and convenience that digital adoption is enabling in their lives. With growing awareness and focus on health heightened by the pandemic, there is a large opportunity and demand for affordable healthcare and ancillary offerings” Ravi Iyer, Senior Vice President and Head – Corporate Development, Flipkart said in the statement.
SastaSundar.com currently offers a digital healthcare and pharmacy platform, and has a network of 490 pharmacies.
“Through this partnership with Flipkart, we see an opportunity to further grow and reach a larger consumer base, using complementary technologies and logistics infrastructure,” B L Mittal, Founder, Chairman of SastaSunsar Healthbuddy said.
SastaSundar Healthbuddy is the subsidiary of SastaSundar Ventures, the listed entity. SastaSundar Marketplace is the stepdown subsidiary of the listed entity.
Flipkart is entering this space at a time when the e-pharmacy space has witnessed significant consolidation.
Last year, Reliance Industries Ltd’s retail unit also acquired a majority stake in online pharmacy Netmeds for Rs 620 crore, in an effort to enter the online e-pharmacy space.
Tata Digital acquired a majority stake in e-pharmacy and health technology platform 1mg Technologies Pvt Ltd in June this year.
PharmEasy parent API Holdings, and Medlife International Pvt Ltd merged last year in one of the larger deals in the space. API Holdings filed for a Rs 6,250 crore initial public offering (IPO) last week.
