Carlyle invests $250m in third-party reseller Pharmapacks
Private equity giant Carlyle has invested $250m in US e-commerce firm Pharmapacks, one of Amazon’s largest third-party resellers.
Launched initially as a pharmacy shop in 2010, Pharmapacks has grown into an online retailer focused on health, personal care and beauty products.
The investment, which values Pharmapacks at approximately $1.1bn, came from Carlyle Partners VII, a $18.5bn buyout fund the firm recently used to acquire a stake in healthtech firm Grand Rounds.
It will be used to open a new supply chain hub on the West Coast, expand its tech capabilities and add more products in categories such as food and pets, chief executive Andrew Vagenas told Reuters.
Pharmapacks recently closed its $40m bridge round financing which was led by consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser. It follows a growth financing of $150m in July with GPI Capital and JP Morgan Chase.
It generated around $250m in revenue last year by selling products through marketplaces such as Amazon, Ebay and Google, and is on track to achieve more than 70 per cent year-on-year growth.
The Pharmapacks investment comes amid an increased interest in e-commerce among private equity investors, as many platforms witness unprecedented traffic during lockdown.
Mid-market investor Livingbridge this week announced its investment into ecommerce platform provider Visualsoft, whose growth has accelerated as retailers optimise their offering.
Additionally some big tech firms are looking at moving into the ecommerce space following the surge in popularity this year.
Last month Tiktok announced it had signed a deal with Shopify to allow brands to sell products through the app.
The tie-up would mean Shopify merchants will be able to run video adverts on the platform, allowing users to click through and buy a product.