India’s largest conglomerate Tata Group will acquire a majority stake in e-pharmacy retailer 1MG, broadening its presence in the medical economy. Not too long ago, the conglomerate used to be in the pharma manufacturing business. But then it sold Merind and Tata Pharma to Wockhardt, restricting its play in the health industry.

After the outbreak of Covid, the $106-billion conglomerate reignited its interest in the industry with a vision to build a digital, patient-centric ecosystem. The proposed 1MG acquisition is in that direction and follows its purchase of teleconferencing software (used in offering virtual health consultations) from AccessBell, a startup based in Silicon Valley. The conglomerate through Tata Digital will acquire over 51% in 1MG for an enterprise value of over $230 million. The deal will peg the total value of 1MG at $450 million.

Tata Digital had already infused about $14 million in1MG in the form of convertible debenture instruments. These instruments, when converted into equity shares, will give Tata Digital about 6% in1MG.

1MG co-founder and CEO Prashant Tandon will continue to lead the company. Incorporated in 2015, 1MG made a loss of over Rs 300 crore on a revenue of Rs 369 crore in fiscal 2020.

By Rohit Dosi, Director – Microsoft Advertising, InMobi