Why did this startup acquire a listed company?

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Let’s get back to the topics of the day. Today we look at:

• The startup that bought an industry Goliath
• Pine Labs’ US$600 million fundraise
• Other newsy highlights such as Sea’s Singapore expansion and a housekeeping startup that filed for an IPO in New York

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Change is coming: Startups are buying big companies

Big companies buying startups is everyday news, but the tables have turned this time: PharmEasy, an India-based medical startup, recently spent US$613 million to acquire a 66.1% stake in Thyrocare, one of the country’s largest diagnostics laboratory chains. Let’s dissect this.

• Who’s the boss? Launched in 2016, PharmEasy allows users to order medicine and healthcare products online as well as book diagnostic tests. It currently has 12 million registered users, a network of 6,000 digital consultation clinics, and 90,000 partner retailers in India.
• Why Thyrocare? The 25-year-old company has accumulated a wealth of data on patients’ conditions and their medical requirements, which are valuable to PharmEasy’s operations. Another benefit will be the revenue it brings in: Thyrocare made US$66.5 million in the year ended March 2021.
• Keep for observation: PharmEasy is planning to go public next year and the deal helps with that. PharmEasy’s valuation has already jumped over 2x to US$4 billion since its acquisition of Thyrocare.

Read more: A landmark deal: The $600m buyout by a Temasek-backed Indian e-pharmacy unicorn

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

Breaking down that US$600 million fundraise

Remember Pine Labs, the India-based company that acquired Southeast Asian fintech platform Fave for over US$45 million? The company recently raised US$600 million after raising US$285 million earlier this year.