Naspers, Temasek get CCI nod to buy stakes in PharmEasy

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has cleared the proposals of purchasing stakes in Pharmeasy by various entities, including South Africa-based Naspers group and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek.

API Holdings, through its subsidiaries, is in the business of providing healthcare services through online ecommerce marketplace PharmEasy.

Naspers Ventures BV proposed the acquisition of "additional shares of API Holdings Ltd by way of participation in the proposed rights issue, subject to the terms of the term sheet executed amongst the parties," CCI said in a release.

Naspers Ventures BV is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Prosus, which in-turn is a direct subsidiary of Naspers Ltd.

CCI said it has approved the proposed deal. The fair trade regulator has also granted approval to Temasek Holdings, CDPQ Private Equity Asia Pte, DBS Group Holdings, and Goldman Sachs India Alternative Investment Trust to acquire stakes in API Holdings Ltd.

The proposed transactions entail the subscription of compulsorily convertible preference shares of API Holdings by MacRitchie Investments Pte, EvolutionX Debt Capital Master Fund 1 Pte, Goldman Sachs India AIF Scheme-1, Goldman Sachs India Alternative Investment Trust AIF Scheme-2, and CDPQ Private Equity Asia Pte.

MacRitchie is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, while EvolutionX is a growth-stage debt financing platform jointly set up by DBS Group Holdings and Temasek.

CDPQ Private Equity Asia is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canadian institutional fund CDPQ. It is an existing investor in PharmEasy.

Goldman Sachs India AIF Scheme 1 and Goldman Sachs India Alternative Investment Trust AIF Scheme 2 are schemes launched by Goldman Sachs India Alternative Investment Trust.