PharmEasy Valuation Slashed 92% From Peak In Latest Janus Henderson Filing

The valuation of API Holdings Pvt., the owner of PharmEasy, was slashed by about 92% to $460 million by US-based investor Janus Henderson as the once-IPO-bound startup sees a severe markdown in value.

At the end of 2021, Janus Henderson valued the company at roughly $5.6 billion, given its holding of 7.58 lakh shares in PharmEasy. In its latest filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the value of the same shares has dipped by 92%, pegging PharmEasy's worth at around $460 million.

The struggling e-pharmacy had already seen a 90% slash from its peak valuation in April this year, when it raised Rs 1,800 crore, led by billionaire Ranjan Pai's Manipal Education and Medical Group and existing investors.

The e-pharmacy's expanding losses and minimal revenue growth in financial year 2023 are the reasons for the valuation cut. It posted Rs 6,644 crore in consolidated revenue from operations, up roughly 16% from Rs 5,728.8 crore in the previous fiscal.

The company's loss widened to Rs 5,211.7 crore from Rs 3,992.4 crore in FY22, according to financial statements on the company's website. It is also bogged down by the growing prominence of rival e-pharmacies such as Tata 1mg, Medlife, Flipkart's SastaSundar.com (now Flipkart Health+) and Reliance-backed Netmeds.

Another US investor, Neuberger Berman, cut PharmEasy's valuation by 21% to $4.4 billion as of February 2023. Global investor Prosus has also marked Pharmeasy's performance as one of the poorest in its portfolio, a shade of fellow Indian companies Swiggy and PayU.