IANS | 26 Apr, 2024
Apollo HealthCo Ltd (Apollo 24|7) on Friday announced it would raise
equity capital of Rs 2,475 crore from leading private equity (PE)
investor Advent International.
A subsidiary of Apollo Hospitals,
Apollo 24|7 said it has also entered into a framework agreement to
integrate 100 per cent of Keimed Private Ltd, India’s leading wholesale
pharma distributor, in a phased manner over the next 24-30 months.
Advent
will invest in two tranches to secure a 12.1 per cent stake in the
merged entity, by valuing the combined entity at an enterprise value of
Rs 22,481 crore.
Apollo 24|7 is valued at an enterprise value of Rs 14,478 crore while Keimed is valued at an enterprise value of Rs 8,003 crore.
Post-merger,
Keimed shareholders would hold a maximum of 25.7 per cent stake in the
combined entity, while Apollo Hospitals would continue to remain the
largest controlling shareholder with at least 59.2 per cent stake.
"Apollo
24|7 has delivered on this promise and has reached over 33 million
Indians in a short span of time. With Advent’s investment and the merger
of Keimed, the combined entity will be one of the country’s leading
retail health companies," said Dr Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman, Apollo
Hospitals Group.
The merger is subject to further corporate approvals to be obtained at the relevant time.
"The
size of the merged supply chain will allow 1.4 billion Indians access
to genuine medicines within 24 minutes to 24 hours, 7 days a week,” said
Shobana Kamineni, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals.
According
to Shweta Jalan, Managing Partner and Head of Advent India, this
investment demonstrates Advent’s commitment to investing in the
fast-growing healthcare sector in India.
Since its inception in
February 2020, Apollo 24|7 has built a user base of more than 33 million
users and is facilitated by a network of over 7,000 doctors.