The US e-commerce giant Amazon is reportedly in talks with Apollo Hospitals for a partnership in the latter’s pharmacy business.

According to a report in Moneycontrol, Amazon & Apollo HealthCo (its subsidiary which houses the pharmacy business) are looking at a partnership that could sharpen the omnichannel experience of its pharmacy business.

For the US giant which has been in the news for the legal dispute with the Future group, such a tie-up would pitch it against Reliance Industries (RIL) and the Tata group.

The report added that Apollo Hospitals is also in talks with several private equity funds for a minority stake sale in the pharmacy business and that it could sell up to 20 per cent stake in their pharmacy subsidiary.

Shares of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise on Friday closed at 5,684.40 — a marginal fall of 0.52 per cent over Thursday’s close.

In August, Apollo Hospitals had sought the approval of its shareholders to transfer the business of procurement of pharmaceuticals and other wellness products, including private label products.

The deal would include transferring wholesales and supply of such products, including its investment in the pharmacy retail business apart from the operation and management of the online platform Apollo 24/7, to its wholly owned subsidiary Apollo HealthCo Ltd. This proposal was passed by its shareholders.

In August last year, RIL had announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Netmeds, the Chennai-based online pharmacy, for a cash consideration of around Rs 620 crore. Similarly, in June this year, Tata Digital had said it will acquire a majority stake in 1mg Technologies Ltd.