Indian drug and medical services startup PharmEasy has withdrawn the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) it filed for its initial public offering (IPO) while Koye Pharmaceuticals has hired investment bank o3 Capital for a fresh fundraise.
PharmEasy recalls draft IPO papers
Indian drug and medical services startup PharmEasy has withdrawn the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) it filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India in November to float its IPO.
PharmEasy deferred its IPO plans citing “market conditions and strategic considerations”, it said in a notice. The company is now instead planning to raise funds from existing shareholders via a rights issue.
The notice announcing the withdrawal of the DRHP comes around a month after a Reuters report, citing sources, claimed that PharmEasy is in talks with investors to raise $200 million but at a valuation that could be 15% or even 25% lower than last year’s $5.1 billion.
Koye Pharma hires banker for fresh fundraise
Koye Pharmaceuticals has hired investment bank o3 Capital for a fresh fundraise, people close to the development told VCCirle, adding it has already attracted strategic interest from La Renon Healthcare.
“Currently, talks between Koye Pharma and La Renon are at an initial stage, with the latter looking to pick a majority stake and Sequoia seems to be keen on this deal,” the report said.
PremjiInvest, the family office of Wipro Ltd chairman Azim Premji, is expected to exit Koye as part of the transaction, according to the report.
Koye Pharma, which was founded in 2013 by Ravindra Shenoy and Preetish Toraskar, is engaged in the manufacturing of products in various therapeutic segments, including specialty primary care, respiratory, gynaecology, IVF (in vitro fertilisation) and cardio-diabetic. Sequoia put more money into the company in 2017 while PremjiInvest invested in Koye in 2018.