PremjiInvest, the family office of Wipro Ltd chairman Azim Premji, is set to acquire a stake in Hyderabad-based pharmacy chain Medplus Health Services Pvt. Ltd.
The firm plans to make the bet through PI Opportunities Fund, a Category II alternative investment fund registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, a regulatory filing shows. Category II includes private equity funds, besides stressed assets funds and real estate funds.
PremjiInvest has sought approval from the Competition Commission of India to acquire the stake in MedPlus.
Madhukar Gangadi, CEO and founder of MedPlus, declined to comment on the transaction.
The size of the deal couldn’t be immediately ascertained.
News website Inc42 first reported the development.
MedPlus has around 1,500 retail stores across India. It also has an online pharmacy unit called MedPlusMart.com.
The company has been involved in several deal negotiations in recent years. Last year, Gangadi secured Rs 750 crore of debt financing from Goldman Sachs to acquire the stake held by its then PE investors Mount Kellett Capital, TVS Capital and India Venture Advisors, a Mint report said at the time.
Last year, MedPlus was also in talks to sell a stake to Amazon, tech news website FactorDaily reported.
PremjiInvest did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday evening.
The investment firm was set up in 2006. It has offices in India and the United States and invests across public and private equity markets, according to the firm.
The firm says it is focused on sectors “that underpin India's growth and has made most of its investment across technology, consumer and retail, healthcare and financial services sector”.
PremjiInvest was one of the most active investors last year after it made at least 10 investments across sectors.
This includes PremjiInvest’s fund infusion in Koye Pharmaceuticals. The investment firm also acquired a 4% stake in SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd and picked up a 6% stake in Future Retail Ltd for Rs 1,672 crore last year.
