Rollins Terminates Acquisition Deal With EaseMyTrip

Putting a hurdle in listed online travel aggregator (OTA) Easemytrip’s (EMT) medical tourism ambitions, its deal to acquire a stake in healthcare company Rollins International has fallen through. 

In an exchange filing today, EMT said that Rollins has pulled out of the acquisition deal.

In September last year, the duo signed definitive agreements for EMT to acquire a 30% stake in Rollins via a share swap deal worth INR 60 Cr. Subsequently, EMT issued and allotted 3.29 Cr fully paid-up equity shares to Rollins in April.

After issuing and allotting equity shares to Rollins, EMT filed applications to the NSE and the BSE for listing of its newly issued and allotted equity shares issued to Rollins and was awaiting approvals.

Rollins, which is a subsidiary of RHA Holding and operates multiple healthcare related brands like clinic chain brand The Wellness Co, healthy food brand PureFoods, among others, said that the decision to pull out from the deal was made after deliberation over the company’s future plans.

“Upon evaluation of our long-term strategic direction and evolving vision, we have concluded that proceeding further with the transaction may not be fully aligned with our goals moving forward. Considering the interests of all our stakeholders, including our internal team and future aspirations of Rollins – we believe this course of action is the most responsible at this stage,” Rollins’ letter to EMT read.

Rollins informed about the reevaluation of the deal with EMT over nine months after the agreement was signed. Back then, EMT’s board approved the acquisition of stake in Rollins as well as Pflege Home Healthcare Center for INR 30 Cr. 

While the deal with Rollins fell through, EMT planned to purchase Pflege Home’s shares from selling shareholders for INR 20 Cr and subscribe to new shares for an aggregate subscription of INR 10 Cr on an equity share swap basis. Pflege facilitates medical tourism, providing services for patients seeking treatment primarily in its home turf Dubai.

With the medical tourism bid, the company aimed to offer a seamless experience by integrating its global travel platform with healthcare and wellness solutions. 

“EaseMyTrip’s portfolio has grown manifold with the inclusion of Rollins International and Pflege Home Healthcare.With the growing demand for accessible, quality healthcare services, this acquisition was necessary to meet the evolving needs of travellers seeking wellness and medical solutions,” the OTA’s then CEO Nishant Pitti said in January. 

Pitti announced his decision to step down from the CEO’s position in early January. Prior to that, he also offloaded as much as 5 Cr shares of the company in December last year via a block deal for INR 78.3 Cr. Earlier this month, Pitti also released 10 Cr shares pledged to Motilal Oswal Financial Services.