Nykaa Founder, became billionaire overnight

Ground Report | New Delhi: Who is Falguni Nayar; Veteran investment banker-entrepreneur Falguni Nayar, who as a banker has led several Indian companies to public listing, is now looking to launch its own IPO for beauty and fashion retailer Nykaa at a valuation of $7 billion to $7.2 billion.

Nykaa's shares were being listed at Rs 2,018 with a premium of around 80 percent. The beauty and fashion retailer's market cap took an overall valuation of 1 trillion rupees ($13.5 billion) in the first five minutes of trading, according to the Bloomberg news agency. Within an hour and a half, Nykaa's market cap had already matched that of industry giants like Britannia, Godrej, and Indigo.

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Nykaa, India's first unicorn startup headed by a woman, was founded in 2012 by Falguni Nair, which sells beauty and personal care products through its mobile app and website. Eight years later, 58-year-old Nair joined only six other Indian female billionaires as she became the richest self-made billionaire. At the listing ceremony on Wednesday, Nair said, "I hope that Nykaa Yatra - an Indian-born, Indian-owned, and Indian-managed dream-realization - can inspire each and every one of you."

Nykaa (Sanskrit word for actress) became increasingly popular among young tech-savvy Indians – mainly women – who preferred the wide selection of brands compared to those offered at their local shops. "The best thing about Nykaa is that it gives me access to so many global brands that were never sold before in India," said Sanaya, 30, a loyal customer of AFP news agency.

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Who is Falguni Nayar

Nayar, 58, the founder, managing director, and CEO of Nykaa owns 54% of the company, is survived by her husband Sanjay Nair, the Indian CEO of US private equity giant KKR, and their two children. She is looking to sell 4.8 million shares through the Sanjay Nair Family Trust. Existing investors such as Hong Kong commodity billionaire Harry Banga, Indian consumer goods billionaire Harsh Mariwala and auto billionaire Sunil Kant Munjal will also sell shares during the IPO.

Nair, who is the second self-made Indian woman billionaire after biotech entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, will take her net worth after the IPO to around $3.8 billion. She became a billionaire in June in a pre-IPO private placement.

Nykaa, which offers over 4,000 brands across beauty, personal care, and fashion platforms, is looking to deepen its presence in India's beauty and fashion market, which is expected to grow from $70 billion in 2020 to over $152 billion in 2025. is expected to be. , according to Bangalore-based RedSeer Management Consulting.

Nykaa now has 80 stores in 40 cities, but still gets 97% of its gross merchandise from online sales, with 63% contributing from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

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