Wellness Forever, a ‘Lifestyle Retail Pharmacy Chain’ which focuses on the complete wellness of its customers, announced it has raised Rs 130 crore in funding from Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla and UAE-based Allana Group.
Founded in 2008, the startup has been backed by the Allana Group, Patni Group, Poonawalla Group & Thakral Corporation.
“We will use the capital to expand our retail presence in Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka,” said Gulshan Bakhtiani, founder and director, Wellness Forever. “Our plan is to add another 800 stores in the next three years. We are also betting big on the online delivery model and hope to increase our presence in key areas so as to be able to serve our customers better.”
Post funding, Aadar Poonawalla and the Allana Group will own a ‘significant minority stake’ in the company, which was valued at Rs 1,600 crore in its last round.
The investors in the company have appointed investment bank JM Financial to look for buyers, both strategic and financial. “That process for our early-stage investors to cash out has begun and is in advanced stages and we expect bids from interested parties by end of this month,” Bakhtiani said.
“The company is looking at deep pocketed investors who will help them tide over for three years till the company formalises its initial public offering plans, said Bakhtiani. “If the market conditions are favourable and if we are able to expand as per our plans then we will look at listing on stock exchanges after three years.”
Wellness Forever currently has a footprint of 200 stores concentrated in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa, and plans to scale it up to 1,000 stores over the next three years.
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