Mekong Capital-backed Pharmacity raises $31.8m in Series C round

The names of the investors, however, were not disclosed.

The company said that the fresh funding will support its expansion plans. Going forward, it plans to open 350 new stores and hit the target of 1,000 stores across the nation by the end of November 2021.

Since its inception in 2012, Pharmacity has become Vietnam’s largest pharmacy network with as many as 252 stores in major cities across the country.

The company claims that it reached a growth of 127 per cent in sales in 2019 compared to the previous year. Going forward, this year, it has set a revenue target of over VND 3 trillion (around $130 million).

Before the Series C round, by the end of 2019, Pharmacity had sold debentures worth VND150 billion.

Last year, private equity firm Mekong Capital invested in pharmacy chain Pharmacity from its Mekong Enterprise Fund III, making it the eighth company to receive funding from the said fund. Its other portfolio companies include mattress firm Vua Nem wherein it invested in June 2018.

The pharmacy sector in Vietnam is of late witnessing significant action.

Largest electronics retailer MobileWorld, also backed by Mekong Capital, has also branched into pharmacy retailing by acquiring Ho Chi Minh City-based chain Phuc An Khang.

In a separate development, Japan’s Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings has recently completed a transaction to lift its ownership in Vietnam-listed DHG Pharma JSC to over 51 per cent.
 

Source: Deal Street Asia