Exclusive: HealthAssure Acquires FitMeIn In A Stock Deal

Update: May 13, 2020| 17:50 PM

After the story was published, the companies confirmed the acquisition and said that FitMeIn team will join HealthAssure. FitMeIn cofounder Vishesh Goel will lead the product team under HealthAssure and cofounder Nidhisha Varshney will be heading the wellness function at HealthAssure. The acquisition will enable HealthAssure to address the comprehensive healthcare needs of its customer from wellness, preventive and insurance care services.

With this transaction, HealthAssure aims to serve the healthcare needs of more than 5 Mn individuals in the country from fitness solutions to primary care by the year-end of 2020. The story has been updated with official details.

Even as the fitness industry tanks in the face of the pandemic restrictions and social distancing norms, Mumbai-based healthcare aggregator HealthAssure has acquired fitness platform FitMeIn.

According to the ministry of corporate affairs filings accessed by Inc42, HealthAssure signed an asset transfer agreement with Pasta Lifestyle Solutions Private Limited (FitMeIn) on March 23. The details show that HealthAssure is buying FitMeIn’s business division, as part of which it is transferring all its existing clients and business agreements, who have been informed about the deal.

However, this doesn’t transfer any liabilities of the business division prior to the agreement date.

The company agreed for issue and allotment of relevant subscription shares within 30 days of the agreement. As a result, HealthAssure has agreed to issue and allot 7,419 equity shares of the company of face value of INR 10 each at a premium of INR 664  each, under the preferential allotment to Pasta Lifestyle Solution Private Limited. This allotment is worth INR 50 Lakh and is a fully paid-up allotment.

Founded in 2015 by Nidhisha Varshney and Vishesh Goel, FitMeIn is an online platform that offers monthly multi-studio membership to over 2500 premium fitness workout venues and studios in 20 cities including Delhi, Mumbai etc. After signing up for a monthly membership, customers can earn certain Fitcoins, which can be used to book their gym spot for a week, or for any sessions organised by FitMeIn. The wellness-focused startup has served over 500K individuals since its inception and will look to double up that number after joining hands with HealthAssure.

The startup also provides corporate subscription and counts companies like L’Oreal, ShopClues, and MakeMyTrip among its prominent clients. It had last raised Pre-Series A funding in 2016 from Japanese digital healthcare company FiNC and follow-on funding from current investors GHV.

Founded in 2011 by Varun Gera, HealthAssure is an aggregator of primary care services for corporates and individuals. It provides healthcare and corporate wellness services to Indian companies in the B2B segment.

The model involves end-to-end management of employee healthcare programmes, assessment of healthcare gaps, and giving corporates access to a high-quality, discounted medical network. HealthAssure operates a strong network of 4,000 primary care centres in 1,100 cities offering services including dental, paediatric, ophthalmology and diagnostics across India.

The company has raised $3.5 Mn till date from investors such as Blume Ventures and HR Fund. With this acquisition, HealthAssure aims to integrate the offerings of both the brands under a single umbrella thereby extending their services from primary care to include preventive care through fitness and lifestyle choices.

As HealthAssure looks to strengthen its corporate wellness products, FitMeIn can be a good addition to its plans. The fitness industry has suffered heavy losses, especially those players with an asset-heavy model. While Curefit has laid off around 1000 employees, Gold’s Gym has filed for bankruptcy. Hence, the acquisition is just the beginning in what could be a big consolidation wave in the post-coronavirus world for the fitness industry.

According to a report by Deloitte, with increased digital adoption, the Indian healthcare market, which is growing at a CAGR of about 20%, will touch a whopping $280 Bn by 2020. According to DataLabs by Inc42, there are a total of 4,892 startups in the Indian healthtech space. It also estimates that the total market size of the healthcare industry in India stood at $202 Bn in 2019.

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