Mumbai: The online pharmacy space is set to be highly contested in the coming days with Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries (RIL) joining the fray. On Tuesday, RIL announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Chennai-based online pharmacy delivery startup Netmeds (Vitalic Health Pvt. Ltd) for a cash consideration of around Rs 620 crore.
According to a late evening statement by the Mukesh Ambani-owned conglomerate, this investment represents 60 per cent equity share capital holding of Vitalic and 100 per cent direct equity ownership of its subsidiaries — Tresara Health Private Limited, Netmeds Market Place Limited and Dadha Pharma Distribution Pvt. Limited.
“This investment is aligned with our commitment to provide digital access for everyone in India. The addition of Netmeds enhances Reliance Retail’s ability to provide good quality and affordable health care products and services, and also broadens its digital commerce proposition to include most daily essential needs of consumers. We are impressed by Netmeds’ journey to build a nationwide digital franchise in such a short time and are confident of accelerating it with our investment and partnership,” RRVL director Isha Ambani said.
The acquisition comes at a crucial juncture when arch-rival Amazon has just begun dealing in pharmaceutical products in Bangalore markets along with two other prominent players Medlife and PharmEasy. Medlife and PharmEasy are now heading for a merger in order to create a larger combined entity in the online pharmacy space.
