Reports say that Metropolis Healthcare is looking for a $300 mn funding through the issuance of fresh shares and selling of shares of some of its existing investors. Now, e-commerce giants, Flipkart and Amazon are in talks to acquire a minority stake in this Mumbai-based diagnostic chain.
Amazon has organised preliminary talks with the chain while Flipkart and Apollo Hospitals have signed a non-disclosure agreement with it. This is part of both Flipkart and Amazon’s attempts to expand their healthcare segment in India.
As part of it, Flipkart launched a health tech app called ‘Flipkart Health+ last month. It helps users access medicines, healthcare products and services across India. It also acquired a majority stake in healthcare platform Sastasundar.com in 2021.
Amazon shifted its focus to healthcare following the arrival of COVID-19. During the period, it worked closely with local sellers to address the demand for healthcare products. Moreover, Amazon launched its online pharmacy service called Amazon Pharmacy in 2020. In January 2022, Amazon is said to have started partnering with Apollo Hospitals and started selling products by Apollo Pharmacies, a subsidiary of Apollo Hospitals, on its platform.
India’s healthcare market is expected to hit $21 billion by 2025.
