Mukesh Ambani now bets on e-pharmacy space days after Amazon’s foray; acquires majority stake in Netmeds

Mukesh Ambani has further upped his ante to take on e-commerce biggies in multiple segments. After grocery, Reliance Industries’ subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures has acquired a majority equity stake in Vitalic Health and its subsidiaries collectively known as online pharmacy startup Netmeds for around Rs 620 crores in cash, the company announced on Wednesday. The deal would give Reliance Retail approximately 60 per cent stake Netmeds and 100 per cent direct equity ownership of its subsidiaries including Tresara Health Private Limited, Netmeds Market Place Limited and Dadha Pharma Distribution Pvt Limited. A majority stake in Netmeds not only makes Reliance among the leading players in the online pharmacy space but also puts it in direct competition with Amazon as latter had recently forayed into selling prescription drugs online with Amazon Pharmacy. 1mg, PharmEasy, Medlife are other startups in the online medicine delivery space in India.