RIL acquires majority stake in Netmeds.com

New Delhi, August 19

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd making its second acquisition in the e-pharmacy space in form of a majority stake in Netmeds for Rs 620 crore will complement its digital consultation and diagnostic tests offering, analysts said on Wednesday.

Reliance Industries, through its subsidiary Reliance Retail, late on Tuesday night announced the acquisition of a 60% stake in Indian digital pharma market place Netmeds for Rs 620 crore. Netmeds operates an online pharmacy in India for prescription products, OTC, and health and wellness products.

Morgan Stanley said this is the company’s “second acquisition in the e-pharmacy space, an area it has highlighted would be of focus as it builds its digital-plus e-commerce ecosystem”.

Over the past three years, RIL has announced $3.1 billion in acquisitions with 13% in retail, 80% in telecom, media and technology, and 6% in energy. Netmeds is present in 670 cities and towns and offers more than 70,000 prescription and lifestyle drugs and thousands of non-prescription goods for wellness, health, and personal care. — PTI