PharmEasy: A difficult prognosis

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Editor's note: API Holdings, parent of online pharmacy platform PharmEasy, is on track to set a record for the fastest listing by a unicorn.  In April this year, the company raised $350 million from investors, taking it past the billion dollar mark for the first time. Earlier this month, it filed its draft IPO prospectus to float a public issue in the current fiscal year itself. That, if it happens, will see beauty products company Nykaa—which became a $1 billion company in March last year and went on to list earlier this month—lose the tag for the fastest listing by a unicorn. Besides, API Holdings is not looking to raise any small sum. It wants to issue fresh equity to raise about $900 million. It last raised funds in October, to be valued at $5.6 billion, and is working on a pre-IPO placement that is likely to determine the final size and pricing of its issue. Trading in unlisted shares of the company values it at over $9 billion, a whopping 500% increase in the last nine months. The BSE Healthcare index, …