Reliance acquires majority stake in Netmeds' parent firm Vitalic for ₹620 crore

RIL also owns 60% holding in the equity share capital of Vitalic and 100% direct equity ownership of its subsidiaries.

Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd. (MINT_PRINT)

Reliance Industries Limited or RIL's subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) has acquired a majority equity stake in Vitalic Health Pvt. Ltd. (“Vitalic”) and its subsidiaries (Collectively known as ‘Netmeds'). The deal is for a cash consideration of approximately ₹620 crores. RIL also owns 60% holding in the equity share capital of Vitalic and 100% direct equity ownership of its subsidiaries. These include Tresara Health Private Limited, Netmeds Market Place Limited and Dadha Pharma Distribution Pvt Limited.

For those unaware, Vitalic and its subsidiaries was incorporated in 2015 and are in the business of pharma distribution, sales, and business support services. This includes one of the popular subsidiaries called Netmeds - an online pharmacy platform that connect customers to pharmacists and enable door step delivery of medicines, nutritional health and wellness products.

“This investment is aligned with our commitment to provide digital access for everyone in India. The addition of Netmeds enhances Reliance Retail's ability to provide good quality and affordable health care products and services, and also broadens its digital commerce proposition to include most daily essential needs of consumers. We are impressed by Netmeds' journey to build a nationwide digital franchise in such a short time and are confident of accelerating it with our investment and partnership,” said Isha Ambani, Director, RRVL.

The announcement comes almost a month after RIL held its Annual General Meeting (AGM 2020) wherein the firm also laid out its plans for JioMart's expansion in India. While the JioMart is focussed on groceries at the moment, in the future the company will expand into other sectors, which includes electronics, fashion, pharmaceuticals and healthcare.

Also rumoured is that ByteDance is in early discussions with Reliance Industries Limited to invest in the India operations of TikTok.