Alto Pharmacy raises $200 mln in SoftBank-led funding round

Jan 27 (Reuters) - San Francisco-based Alto Pharmacy raised $200 million in a late-stage funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund, after reported talks of a merger with a blank-check firm backed by billionaire Alec Gores fell through late last year.

The company, which offers same-day delivery of prescription medicines, did not reveal its latest valuation, but was valued at more than $1 billion in early 2020 when it raised $250 million in a Series D funding round led by SoftBank, according to sources. [https://reut.rs/3rTeeFX]

Several technology companies offering e-commerce services to customers have raised fresh capital or filed to go public in recent months as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to online buying.

Alto Pharmacy, founded in 2015 as ScriptDash, was in talks of floating its shares in New York, which fell though late last year when the SPAC and Alto could not agree on valuation terms, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The company said on Thursday its revenue more than doubled in the past 12 months to over $700 million. It has also expanded its presence to 12 markets across the United States.

(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)