Tag: Thyrocare

Omicron scare: Is it a good time to add diagnostics stocks to your portfolio?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Diagnostics stocks are in demand once again on Dalal Street, as benchmark indices attempt to recover from Friday’s sell-off following the news of the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron.

Bright prospects for diagnostics and healthcare businesses amid the pandemic have boosted stocks of companies like Dr Lal PathLabs, Metropolis Healthcare and Apollo Hospitals in the recent past.

Among diagnostics companies, Dr Lal PathLabs shares have rewarded investors with a return of 65 percent in the past 12 months. Thyrocare has risen 46 percent. Hospital stocks Max and Apollo have increased 197 percent and 148 percent in value respectively during the period.

The returned focus on diagnostics on Dalal Street comes at a time when the investor focus is seemingly shifting to pharma and healthcare as the market reacts to the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Headline indices hit a correction last seek amid a global sell-off triggered by the news of the detection of Omicron. Until then, both Sensex and Nifty50 indices had scaled a series of record highs over the past few months in a liquidity-driven run, with investors overlooking warnings on expensive valuations by foreign brokerages.

In an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18, market guru Mark Mobius said investors are reacting to the news of Omicron when not many know about the new variant. He expects volatility in the market to ease as more is known about the Omicron.

He believes pharmaceutical and diagnostic stocks tend to perform better in such times. Mobius Capital would add pharma, diagnostic and technology stocks in such markets, said Founder Mobius.

Centrum Broking has initiated coverage on the country’s diagnostics industry, with a ‘buy’ call each on Dr Lal PathLabs, Metropolis and Vijaya Diagnostics.

Among the recent debutants on Dalal Street, Vijaya Diagnostics shares are up 5.5 percent since a sanguine listing compared to their issue price of Rs 531.

The brokerage sees a massive opportunity in the industry, and expects consolidation to help sustain the high growth momentum for organised chains.

“We anticipate a faster shift to organised providers, given the quality setup, faster report turnaround, complex test availability and better customer experience. With their pan-India network, organised players also benefit from economies of scale and are able to provide better illness management for patients and better diagnosis for doctors,” Centrum said in a report.

The coronavirus pandemic, according to Centrum, has led to a major push to wellness and overall healthcare penetration in India. Companies with wider networks are using asset-light models, third-party centres and home collection services to expand faster, it said.

Many stocks among the COVID beneficiaries have corrected from recent peaks and look attractive now from a long-term perspective, AK Prabhakar, Head of Research at IDBI Capital, told CNBCTV18.com.

Prabhakar has KIMS, Cipla, Cadila, Gland, Metropolis and Max Healthcare among his top picks now.

Most analysts believe the correction in the overall market after the strong rally since the COVID lows is healthy given the elevated levels of valuations.

Despite the recent dip, the Nifty50 benchmark is up more than 32 percent in the past one year. NSE’s healthcare and pharma indices have risen 25 percent and 16 percent respectively.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

PharmEasy parent API Holdings files papers for Rs 6,250-cr IPO

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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PharmEasy parent firm API Holdings has filed preliminary papers with capital markets regulator Sebi for a public listing to raise over Rs 6,250 crore via an initial share sale. The digital pharmacy and healthcare platform has become the latest among a list of Indian startups to pursue share market listing this year.

The funds will be raised through the fresh issuance of equity shares, according to PharmEasy’s draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). The company may also consider a pre-IPO fundraise of about Rs 1,250 crore before it files the red herring prospectus with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). If the round takes place, the size of the IPO will be reduced.

API Holdings with subsidiaries like PharmEasy and Thyrocare provides health services ranging from radiology tests, teleconsultation, and home delivery of medical devices and products. The firm had acquired Thyrocare, India’s largest diagnostic test provider, earlier this year.

Also Read | PharmEasy: A tryout’s journey through tests to the Thyrocare takeover

It intends to use the funds raised from the issue to prepay and repay outstanding borrowings availed by the parent and subsidiary firms. It also intends to use Rs 1,259 crore to fund organic growth initiatives. It has set aside Rs 1,500 crore for inorganic growth opportunities via acquisitions and other strategic actions.

The company will focus on core areas of growth like marketing and promotional activities to increase brand awareness, supply chain infrastructure, and technology capabilities, it said in the DRHP.

DRHP or draft red herring prospectus is a preliminary registration document filed with the markets regulator SEBI to raise funds via the book-building process. It mentions why the company wants to raise money and how it intends to use the money. It also contains the risks involved.

PharmEasy’s revenue from operations stood at Rs 2,335 crore for the financial year 21, jumping from Rs 668 crore in the previous year. However, the revenue declined for the first quarter of FY22 to Rs 1,197 crore.

Its net loss in FY21 was Rs 645 crore, up from Rs 335 crore in FY20. In the quarter ended June 2021, its losses declined to Rs 314 crore. Its pro forma gross merchandise value (GMV) stood at Rs 787 crore in FY21 and declined to Rs 303 crore in Q1 FY22.

GMV is the total value of merchandise sold over a given period. While pro forma GMV means the company is excluding anything it believes can obscure the accuracy of its financial outlook. It is a useful tidbit of information to assess the future aspects of a company.

API Holdings’ pro forma GMV includes the contribution from its acquisitions of Medlife, Ascent, Aknamed, and Thyrocare as if these were acquired on April 1, 2020.

Among its investors are private-equity firm TPG, tech-focused venture capital firm Naspers, and entities related to global investment group CDPQ.

Citigroup Global Markets India, JM Financial Ltd, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Morgan Stanley India and BoFA Securities India are joint book runners in API Holdings’ IPO.

With this listing, PharmEasy will join the likes of Nykaa, Zomato, Paytm, and PolicyBazaar — the new-age companies looking to list on Indian stock exchanges.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Diagnostic cos’ valuations much ahead of growth expectations: Prabhudas Lilladher

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The diagnostic space has been in focus ever since the pandemic broke out and testing picked up. Some large players such as Lupin, are now eyeing the space which could cause a significant disruption. To have a better understanding of the sector, CNBC-TV18 spoke to Surajit Pal, pharma analyst at Prabhudas Lilladher.

Read Here: As Lupin forays into diagnostics, here’s what Credit Suisse says

Pal said, “The valuation given to the diagnostic sector, I believe it is mostly assuming that the COVID related inflows will continue for some time, at least for foreseeable future, instead of focusing on the core business. So, if I look into the core business, which companies were driving around 80-90 percent in the last quarter, if that be the case, then I am not very hopeful. We need to look into the cases till March 2020 before COVID came into picture, the typical core business growth in the sector was roughly around 10 to 13 percent kind of growth. So, if that is the growth and the kind of valuation jump-up that happened in the last one-and-a-half years, it is much ahead of its fundamentals.”

Also Read: Why India is the pharmacy of the world?

On PharmEasy, he said, “I think the major part of the valuations are very high, maybe there is a potential that integrated healthcare service provider, which is an emerging trend, post-merger of PharmEasy and Thyrocare, that might come to them. Going forward, I think even many hospitals will join the race. I think bigger guys like Metropolis Health, Dr Lal PathLabs, they have the capacity of creating similar kind of assets by acquiring anyone, given the kind of money they have or the cash reserve they have. So, I think that is a valuation which I believe came about in the last one-and-a-half years, that could be one of the potential reasons for their higher valuation rise. But for PharmEasy and Thyrocare, you need to give them time, at least one to two years, to see the actual reality and success. If they succeed, I think that will be the emerging trend and this high valuation might be maintained for this sector.”

On Lupin, he said, “I think this is very baffling, actually there is no related growth into that space. I believe that management might be thinking of creating some asset going forward, say next four or five years. They might be creating some in-house asset which could be separately listed and getting some value for them.”

For full interview, watch the accompanying video.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Tech startups beat limits via M&A: The key question is if they are kosher

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A lot has already been written, with a sense of awe, about the six-year-old startup PharmEasy’s acquisition of the 25-year-old listed diagnostic company Thyrocare—David pummeling Goliath though admittedly it was a friendly acquisition to be sure. It has by now become a pattern. Successful startups in India have by and large been started by techies living up to India’s justly built image of being a software powerhouse.

But they have been disparagingly and teasingly called paper tigers (or are they paperless tigers?) because of their sky-high valuations built on mere funding by deep-pocketed foreign investors rather than profits, and their massive scale without revenue generation. With online technology becoming such a critical aspect of everyday life and transactions especially in the COVID-19 era, startups are looking to snap up non-tech businesses in a bid to demonstrate revenue growth along with scale.

BYJU’S acquisition of the Aakash, BharatPe-PMC Bank deal and the Groww acquisition of the IndiaBulls AMC business presaged what PharmEasy has done. In one stroke with such acquisitions, all the three handicaps are gotten over. An offline business palpable, tangible bricks and mortar platform with non-tech business and revenue to show as a valuable adjunct to the app-driven business model is the bottom line. The earlier PharmEasy-Medlife merger was between two online platforms but now the takeover of Thyrocare, a brick and mortar business, absolves it of the paper tiger or mere tech platform image.

PharmEasy recently raised $323 million in its Series E round from Prosus Ventures, TPG Growth as well as existing investors Temasek, CDPQ, LGT Lightrock, Eight Roads & Think Investments, at a valuation of $1.5 billion, becoming India’s first healthtech unicorn. It spurted to $1.8 billion after a $20 million secondary transaction from Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital. Flush with funds it went about realising its dream of being a comprehensive healthcare service provider—consultation, diagnostic, pharmacy and hospital. The Rs 4,546 crore deal to acquire Thyrocare is the first step in that direction. More action can follow.

Growth can be both organic and inorganic. There is no shame in growing inorganically. But the moot question is whether this path is kosher for a startup. The Indian government policy among other things requires a startup to be formed afresh and not by splitting an existing business. This has been the standard refrain in almost all the tax-holiday provisions in the income-tax Act. One can understand because the government wants fresh investments in plants and machinery to take place as well as to generate fresh employment opportunities in return for the tax incentives. Startups enjoy a three-year income tax holiday and its investor’s immunity from capital gains tax besides getting immunity from the dreaded angel tax if the startup is recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

ALSO READ | PharmEasy: A tryout’s journey through tests to the Thyrocare takeover

Tech startups flush with funds now have an envious opportunity—ramp up their business model with brick and mortar acquisitions. This in a way gives foreign investors an opportunity to acquire successful Indian businesses through startups and their parent companies as vividly brought out by the fact that Thyrocare promoter Dr A Velumani is investing Rs 1,500 crore for a 4.96 percent stake in API Holdings Pvt. Ltd, the parent company of PharmEasy. If you can’t beat them join them is the adage. Dr Velumani is thus ploughing back a sliver of his generous sale proceeds into the acquirer if not his tormentor.

The government needs to reexamine its policy in light of this recent development. Well-run Indian companies may be coveted by the deep-pocketed startups and their foreign investors. The tax exemptions (including the three-year income tax holiday) in hindsight thus would turn out to be undeserving and unmerited as it was a handholding gesture from the government.

A David who can fall Goliath needs no handholding and thus should be required to pay back the tax that was exempted earlier. And the threat of attracting angel tax under section 56(2) (viib) of the income tax Act which has been held back once again as a handholding gesture must be acted upon. It says if an investor in a startup has paid more than the fair value for its shares, the excess will be taxed as income from other sources. The object was to deter the laundering of black money. The phenomenal valuations put on startup shares fuelled this suspicion.

Another aspect the government must look into is the conflict of interest. PharmEasy now would contrive its app to promote Thyrocare to the exclusion of its competitors the way Amazon favors (allegedly) its own associates in its avowedly marketplace model on its e-commerce portal.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Big Deal: Startups targeting legacy companies is a hot M&A trend; experts discuss

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A big new trend is emerging on Deal Street — online businesses are buying out the offline businesses. The trend is the newly emerging space. Online, offline combo can be lethal and that is why these mergers and acquisition (M&A) deals are gaining traction.

One such large and pathbreaking deal in this particular space is PharmEasy, which announced the acquisition of Thyrocare Technologies. It is a trendsetter with an unlisted new unicorn buying an offline legacy business. Many such deals are in the work right now. Sanjeev Bhikchandani, founder and executive VC of Info Edge; Manisha Girotra, CEO of Moelis India; and Yogesh Singh, Partner & Co-Head – Corporate Practice at Trilegal discussed this further.

For the full interview, watch the accompanying video.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

EXCL: PharmEasy’s parent API Holdings to acquire Thyrocare, to create one stop shop for healthcare solutions, says CEO Siddharth Shah

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In one of the first deals, an unlisted startup eyeing an IPO has acquired a listed company with PharmEasy’s API Holdings announcing the acquisition of Thyrocare.

Dr A Velumani will exit Thyrocare completely but will invest in API Holdings as part of the larger deal. CNBC-TV18‘s Nisha Poddar who first broke the story caught up with Siddharth Shah, co-founder and CEO of API Holdings on the deal dynamics.

Q. What’s the rationale of the deal?

Siddharth Shah: Thyrocare has an outstanding backend and they are leaders in cost control. We have a reach that can cover 70 percent of India under 24 hours. PharmEasy is the leader in technology services today for healthcare in India and it is the best largest platform. We have more than 17 million monthly active users, more than 50-60,000 medicine orders delivered every single day. We have a network today of 80,000 pharmacies across India. We have a network of 6,000 doctors. We believe that it is a perfect complimentary strength to complete a digital-led holistic healthcare platform in India, that can cover information, consultation, tests, and treatment. But the idea is now these can cover tests along with treatment in a very very big way. I believe that 70 percent of India’s population can now be covered with either a medicine or a test with a turnaround time of less than 24 hours with world-class technology and world-class service coming to your doorstep.

Q. What are the synergistic benefits of this acquisition?

SS: Today a significant number of patients require tests as well as treatment and Thyrocare is today a leader in wellness, which is a very chronic part of what you need for maintaining your health and wellness. I think PharmEasy today is the go-to platform for everybody. We believe Tyrocare also has a significant B2B network. We believe that on top of the B2B network, we can create an outstanding B2C network. We can leverage our pan India strength to make it happen.

Q: Is Dr Velumani also investing in API Holdings as part of the transaction

SS: Dr Velumani will make an investment of Rs 1,500 crore to buy 4.9 percent in API Holdings. This transaction is separate from the acquisition deal.

Q: How are you planning to fund this large acquisition?

SS: We have significant investment coming in from our existing and new shareholders and there is already cash from the previous rounds, and there is some other committed funding. So, we are well set to make this happen.

Q: API Holdings is planning for an IPO, so will there be two listed companies or will Thyrocare will be delisted? If the open offer is fully subscribed to then the promoter holding will be much higher than Sebi norms.

SS: API Holdings is planning an IPO in 12-18 months and this acquisition will beef up our portfolio ahead of the listing. On the point of the number of listed entities, all options are on the table. I think we cross the bridge when we get there. The board will consider all options right and take the decision.

Q. What has been the role of Aditya Puri in this deal?

SS: Aditya Puri is on the board of API Holdings. Personally, for me, he is a mentor and an advisor and his views are valuable.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

PharmEasy to acquire 66.1% stake in Thyrocare for Rs 4,546 crore

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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API Holdings (API), the parent company of PharmEasy announced on June 25 that it was acquire 66.1 percent stake in Thyrocare from Dr A Velumani and affiliates at a price of Rs 1,300 per share aggregating to Rs 4,546 crore.

Founded by Dharmil Sheth, Dhaval Shah, Harsh Parekh, Hardik Dedhia and Siddharth Shah, API Holdings said that the transaction is subject to regulatory and other applicable approvals. Docon Technologies, a 100 percent subsidiary of API, will be the acquirer and will make an open offer for an additional 26 percent stake.

In a statement, API Holdings said that Dr A Velumani will be separately acquiring a minority non-controlling stake, of less than 5 percent in API as part of a series of equity investments by existing and new investors of API.

PharmEasy has a 12 million customer base, including a network of 6,000+ digital consultation clinics and 90,000+ partner retailers across the country. It serves over 1 million patients for their pharmacy and diagnostics needs, conducts over 3 lakh consultations, and issues over 1 million digital prescriptions on a monthly basis.

On the addition of Thyrocare into its portfolio, CEO, API Holdings Siddharth Shah said, “We are delighted to be partnering Thyrocare. We will provide world class customer experience in diagnostics, rivalling our pharmacy experience by leveraging technology, and building on top of the massive scale & truly pan-India presence of Thyrocare. It is our aim to deliver all outpatient healthcare products & services to every Indian within 24 hours.”

Dr A Velumani, Chairman and MD of Thyrocare added, “I am excited about this relationship, unique of its kind in Indian Healthcare Industry. The unique reach and strength of Thyrocare in Diagnostics blended with young and dynamic team of PharmEasy will bring in better healthcare solutions for common man nationwide.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Startup Digest: IPO-bound PharmEasy may buy Thyrocare, Nazara acquires PulishMe, Sense raises $16 million

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Here are the top stories from the startup universe.

IPO-bound PharmEasy in talks to buy stake in Thyrocare; B Capital buys stake for $20 million

IPO-bound PharmEasy is in talks to buy a stake in diagnostics services provider Thyrocare, sources with direct knowledge of the matter have told CNBC-TV18. The lack of succession options at Thyrocare could be a key reason for the founder and chairman – Dr Velumani to sell a stake in the company, as per people in the know. Moreover, the current valuations are rewarding. Promoters held a 66.14 percent stake in Thyrocare as of March 31, 2021. It is also gathered that Dr Velumani may even look at investing in API Holdings as part of the deal. PharmEasy is valued at $1.8 billion after Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital bought a stake for $20 million.

Nazara Technologies to acquire gaming firm PublishMe

Gaming and sports media platform, Nazara Technologies has made its first acquisition after it listed on exchanges in March this year. The company backed by billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is acquiring a majority stake in Publishme, the largest mobile game publishing agency in West Asia and Turkey. As part of the deal, Nazara will invest about Rs 20 crore in Publishme’s parent Arrakis Tanitim Organizasyon Pazarlama in a primary and secondary purchase.

Nazara will acquire 69.82 percent of the company, as it looks to strengthen its presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the company said. “MENA is one of the fastest-growing gaming markets, with an estimated market size of $4.8 billion and has over 160 million gamers in the region,” Publishme CEO Ozgur Ozalp said. Currently, Publishme’s clientele includes Garena, My.Games, and Lokum Games, among others. Meanwhile, Nazara already has a presence in India and across emerging and developed global markets such as Africa and North America. With this acquisition, Nazara is looking to expand its international footprint across key growth segments like freemium, gamified learning and esports.

Amazon, Flipkart file appeal against Karnataka HC order allowing CCI probe

Ecommerce giants Amazon and Flipkart have filed a writ appeal against the Karnataka High Court’s order last week dismissing the petitions by the company as well as Amazon that sought to quash a probe by the Competition Commission of India against them over alleged competitive practices.
The matter is likely to be heard on Friday. Karnataka High Court on June 11 dismissed the petitions by the e-commerce players, over a year-and-a-half after giving the companies an interim stay on the CCI probe. The competition watchdog had, on January 13, 2020, ordered a probe against Amazon, Flipkart on alleged anti-competitive practices on a case filed by the Delhi Vyaar Mahasangh under Section 3 of the Competition Act.

AI-enabled talent management startup ‘Sense’ raises $16 million

AI-driven talent management startup ‘Sense’ has raised $16 million in a Series C funding round led by B2B and SaaS specialist venture capitalist – Avataar Ventures. Existing investors Accel & Google Ventures also participated in the funding round. Along with raising fresh capital, the San Francisco-based firm has also expanded its global footprint by doubling down on India operations. The startup has added new members to its executive leadership. Sanjay Dharmani, ex-InMobi joined Sense India as managing director and Nishant Rao, founder of Avataar Venture Partners also joined the board. The startup’s founder Anil Dharni said Sense is aiming to make India their regional HQ for a broader Asia expansion. It is also gathered that Dr Velumani may even look at investing in API Holdings as part of the deal.

Paytm finalises investment bankers ahead of mega Diwali listing: Report

Paytm’s parent company One97 Communications has reportedly finalised investment bankers for the upcoming initial public offering (IPO). The digital payment giant has roped in JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, ICICI Securities, and Goldman Sachs to lead the IPO, Times of India reported. CNBC-TV18 had reported on May 31 that the board of One97 Communications had given the in-principle approval for the listing. The initial offering would be the largest ever seen in India, as it tries to raise $3 billion. The company is expected to file its prospectus by July.

Google announces another $15 million grants to help rural India fight COVID-19

Google has announced that the company will support procurement and installation of approximately 80 oxygen generation plants in high-need and rural locations of the country through additional grants worth $15 million to two non-profit organisations. For the procurement of oxygen, the company will work with GiveIndia and PATH. Google will also provide a $500,000 grant to ARMMAN to run skilling programmes for 180,000 Accredited Social Health Activists and 40,000 Auxiliary Nurse Midwives in 15 Indian states. The tech giant’s philanthropic arm Google.org had previously provided aid worth $18 million at the onset of the second COVID-19 wave in India in April.

Healthcare startup Eka Care integrates with CoWIN for vaccination booking

Healthcare platform Eka.Care has gone live with CoWIN-approved vaccination slot booking to help people get jabs in an orderly manner. The ‘eka.care’ platform’s integration with CoWIN offers a bouquet of services including seamless slot booking, pre, and post-vaccination tele-consultation.
The platform will help users book vaccination slots at their nearest location in a reliable and simple three-step process. The users can also customise the search of vaccination slots by location, distance, age, vaccination type, and cost to suit their requirements.

MyGlamm names actor Shraddha Kapoor brand ambassador & investing partner

D2C beauty and personal care brand MyGlamm has appointed actor Shraddha Kapoor as their brand ambassador. Shraddha has also invested an undisclosed amount in the brand. The venture says incorporating customer feedback and wants, in their product formulations is what attracted actor Shradha Kapoor to invest in the brand. The actor said that she is, “excited to be the face of MyGlamm”, as the DTC beauty market is growing rapidly.

Swiggy, Anra Tech to launch 1st BVLOS drone delivery trials for food

Swiggy and Anra Technologies have received clearance from the ministry of defence, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, and ministry of civil aviation to start trials for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations in India.
For the next several weeks, the flight team will conduct BVLOS food and medical package deliveries in Etah and Rupnagar districts using Anra SmartSkies technology. Anra is the only US technology provider approved by the ministry of civil aviation to lead two consortia as part of this pioneering initiative.

One consortium consists of Anra along with its partners Swiggy, Indian Institute of Technology in Ropar and BetterDrones, a drone service provider which will focus on food delivery. The second consortium includes Anra and the IIT Ropar, and will focus on medical deliveries.

Uber’s Bengaluru team leads tech for 3rd party cab booking in UK

Uber’s Bengaluru-based mobility engineering team is leading the technological development of integration with a third-party cab aggregator in the UK. As per Uber, this is their first-ever product offering. “‘Local Cab is currently being piloted in Plymouth and Oxford in the UK, and allows residents there to book third-party cabs offered by the aggregator, Autocab, through the Uber app, Uber said in a statement. The mobility engineering team led the integration, which included breaking Uber’s tech stack and building a new service, allowing Uber riders to be paired with a third-party driver. The team integrated the Uber app with Autocab”s marketplace with the help of third-party application programming interfaces developed for local cabs. As part of the integration, riders in Plymouth and Oxford will see the option to book a “Local Cab” on their Uber app, and upon requesting a ride, will be routed to the Autocab marketplace, which will pair it with an available operator.

Mumbai Angels Network partners with AWS to increase value for its portfolio cos

Startup investment platform Mumbai Angels Network has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to enhance the value proposition for its portfolio companies. The deal will enable the portfolio companies to scale up and expand their market presence. The collaboration will be marked through a series of startup programs in which Mumbai Angels portfolio companies can participate, the firm said. Startups with funding round up to Series A will be eligible to apply for a $100,000 AWS credit. Startups Series B and above would be eligible for programs like Amazon Partner Network, AWS Marketplace, AWS Connections, and others, Mumbai Angels added.

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY & STARTUP NEWS

Microsoft elevates CEO Satya Nadella as Chairman

Satya Nadella, the chief executive officer of Microsoft, has been named the chairman of the company. The move strengthens Nadella’s influence at Microsoft after his stint as the CEO for more than seven years. Nadella succeeds John Thompson, who will return to the role of lead independent director, a position he held before being named chairman in 2014, Microsoft said in a statement. Nadella, the company’s third CEO, will also be the third chairman in Microsoft’s history, following Gates and Thompson. Nadella took over as the CEO of Microsoft in 2014 from Steve Ballmer. He has played a key role in scaling up tech giant’s business including billion-dollar acquisitions like LinkedIn, Nuance Communications and ZeniMax.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg drops off top CEO list: Glassdoor

Mark Zuckerberg’s approval among some Facebook employees has slipped, dislodging him from Glassdoor’s ranking of the Top 100 CEOs, a list he’s been on annually since 2013, Bloomberg reported. Worker sentiment on Zuckerberg, as measured by Glassdoor surveys taken by more than 700 Facebook employees between May 2020 and May 2021, declined particularly in the last months of 2020 and early this year, when Facebook was managing the aftermath of the US presidential election and misinformation around the COVID-19 pandemic. While Zuckerberg still managed a rating of 88%, higher than the average 73 percent approval rating for CEOs generally, that wasn’t enough for the top 100 list, where Microsoft Corp’s Satya Nadella scores a 97% and Apple Tim Cook scores 95 percent.

Google, Amazon defend devices biz

Google and Amazon have defended their smart-speaker businesses as U.S. senators warned the grip the companies have over the market could harm competition and consumer privacy. As per a Bloomberg report, Republicans and Democrats at a hearing Tuesday raised concerns about what they said were anti-competitive practices such as selling devices below cost and promoting their own services over those of competitors on their platforms.
The hearing marked the latest move by lawmakers on Capitol Hill to scrutinize the practices of the tech industry’s biggest companies as they consider potential reforms to antitrust laws to impose tighter regulations on the companies. Amazon executive Ryan McCrate testified that Amazon makes its technology available to other developers so that competing music services, for example, are available through its voice-assistant service Alexa.
Meanwhile, Wilson White, a senior director of government affairs at Google, said the company prioritises consumer choice and privacy.

China’s market regulator launches antitrust probe into IPO-bound Didi

China’s market regulator has begun an antitrust probe into Didi Chuxing, just as the ride-hailing giant is pushing ahead with what could be the largest initial public offering in the United States this year. China’s market regulator, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), is investigating whether Didi used any competitive practices that squeezed out smaller rivals unfairly, sources told Reuters. The regulator is also examining whether the pricing mechanism used by Didi’s core ride-hailing business is transparent enough, they added. Reuters reported that the probe is the latest in a sweeping crackdown on China’s so-called “platform” companies, including Alibaba Group and Tencent. In its IPO prospectus made public last week, Didi disclosed that it and more than 30 other Chinese internet companies had met with regulators, including the SAMR, in April.

ByteDance’s gross profit rose 93% to $19 billion last year – WSJ

TikTok Owner ByteDance’s gross profit surged 93 percent to $19 billion last year, while its net loss for 2020 totaled $45 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a memo. The company’s revenue last year more than doubled to $34.3 billion, the newspaper said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

IPO-bound PharmEasy in talks to buy stake in Thyrocare

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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IPO-bound PharmEasy is in talks to buy stake in diagnostics services provider Thyrocare, sources with direct knowledge of the matter have told CNBC-TV18.

The lack of succession options at Thyrocare could be a key reason for the founder and chairman – Dr Velumani to sell stake in the company, as per people in the know. Moreover, the current valuations are rewarding. Promoters held 66.14 percent stake in Thyrocare as of March 31, 2021.

It is also gathered that Dr Velumani may even look at investing in API Holdings as part of the deal.

When we reached out, API Holdings did not comment on the development. Thyrocare did not offer a comment either.

PharmEasy is valued at $1.8 billion after B Capital bought stake for $20 million. PharmEasy’s parent API Holdings has been beefing up its portfolio. Medlife buy makes PharmEasy India’s largest medicine delivery platform. Former banker Aditya Puri recently joined the board of the company to help scale up the company’s businesses.

Thyrocare Tech listed on the exchanges in May 2016 with a market capitalisation of around Rs 3,300 crore at debut. The share price has risen to around Rs 1300/share and has seen a Rs 300/share gain in the month of June 2021.

Thyrocare is one of the leading pan-India diagnostic chains and conducts an array of medical diagnostic tests and profiles of tests that centre on the early detection and management of disorders and diseases.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

COVID testing: Technicians reluctant to volunteer for home services, says Thyrocare

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The second wave of COVID-19 has left us with huge, unmanageable numbers, said A Velumani, Chairman, Managing Director and CEO, Thyrocare Technologies in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

“We have waitlisted the collections and testing. For the first time in the history of Thyrocare, we have capacity issues. That says how much the pressure in the city and the state is. Having said that, the non-COVID business also is back to what it was,” he added.

The second wave of COVID-19 is more infections. So technicians are very reluctant to go and there is a challenge in giving home services, he further mentioned.

In terms of non-COVID testing, he stated, “Non-COVID capacities are underutilised and I don’t think there is currently any need for people to raise the prices. We have not found anyone increasing non-COVID nor we have increased, in fact, we have reduced the prices.”

On sharing the business load with competitors, he explained, “For the last ten days, we are all asking each other – do you have the capacity, can I give my business to you?”

On margins, he said, “The percentage margin is a challenge but the absolute margin is not a problem. So volumes are compensating.”

Arindam Haldar resigned as CEO of Thyrocare due to personal reasons and the new CEO will be announced within the next 60 days, Velumani said.

For more, watch the video

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow