After PillPack, Amazon in Talks to Acquire India’s No. 2 Pharmacy Chain Medplus

To establish its strong foothold in the Indian Pharma sector, US-based retail giant Amazon is in early talks to invest in the country's second largest pharmacy chain, Medplus. Last month, it acquired PillPack, an online pharmacy for about $1 billion.  

“There have been preliminary discussions between Amazon and Medplus…Too early to call it a deal,” mentioned FactorDaily in a report quoting sources aware about the development.

Founded in 2006 Madhukar Gangadi, Hyderabad-based MedPlus runs over 1,400 stores across 150 cities in 12 Indian states. The company which opened its first pharmacy store in Hyderabad in February 2006, claims to serve 250,000 customers on a daily basis. 

Apollo Pharmacy, run by Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd, is the largest pharmacy chain in India, with more than 2,000 stores across the country. 

In January 2018, the promoter of Medplus had raised around Rs 700-750 crore (approximately $115 million) in debt financing from Goldman Sachs to buy out stakes from its existing private equity investors including US-based Mount Kellett Capital Management Lp, TVS Capital Funds Ltd and Ajay Piramal’s India Venture Advisors Pvt. Ltd. Gangadi now owns around 90% stake in the company.

Medplus which claims to has a turnover of over Rs 2,000 crore, generated revenues of Rs 1,726 crore in 2015-16, posted profits of Rs 9 crore.

Not only Amazon, but home-grown e-tailer Flipkart has also held discussions with online pharma companies: Gurgaon-based 1mg and Mumbai’s PharmEasy and looking at potential acquisitions in the space to start its own business.

Other significant players operating in the pharmacy space include Netmeds and Medlife.