Japan’s SoftBank Vision Fund is looking to invest up to $350 million (about Rs 2,440 crore at current exchange rate) in Curefit, which may see the healthcare and wellness startup join the unicorn club with over $1 billion in valuation, three people in the know told The Times of India.
The less-than-three-years-old Bengaluru-based company recently raised $75 million from existing and new investors.
Curefit, owned by Cure Fit Healthcare Pvt. Ltd, was founded by Myntra co-founder Mukesh Bansal and former Flipkart executive Ankit Nagori.
In another development, Mumbai-based Lupin Pharma and the healthcare arm of Piramal Enterprises are separately looking to acquire 75-year drug maker JB Chemicals, people familiar with the development told The Economic Times.
JB Chemicals, one of the oldest active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) makers in India, had appointed investment bank Avendus to find a buyer for the 55% stake held by the Mody family in the company, the report said.
JB Chemicals has been an acquisition target for several pharma companies for some years now as the succession issue, coupled with the slowdown in the Indian API industry, has led some promoters to exit.
Meanwhile, private equity group Advent International has emerged as the only firm to have made a bid for Mumbai-based biopharma company Bharat Serums and Vaccines, persons close to the development told The Economic Times, adding that the bid is worth Rs 3,600 crore ($520 million).
Others that backed out of the two-year sale process include ChrysCapital-backed Mankind Pharma and a consortium of Carlyle and Zydus Cadila.
“The promoters will initiate talks with lenders and use some internal accruals to buy back the stake from existing private equity investors to sell the business at a higher price later,” one of the persons said.
Kotak PE and OrbiMed together hold 23% stake in Bharat Serums and Vaccines. The rest of the stake is with the Daftary family.
