Nykaa, an omni-channel retailer of beauty products, is all set to prove and soon become the next billion-dollar Indian company. The Mumbai-based start-up has raised Rs 100 crore from private equity partner TPG Growth at a valuation of $724 million, company filings sourced from business intelligence platform Paper.vc, showed.
So it means than in just matter of six months, the company’s valuation has more than doubled. In September 2018, when Lighthouse Advisors invested Rs 113 crore to buy out early investor TVS Capital, Nykaa was valued at $330 million. Earlier, in 2018, the start-up had also raised Rs 160 crore through primary and secondary share sale.
Mumbai-based online beauty platform Nykaa, which recently acquired 20Dresses, seems to be on right track to become the next billion-dollar Indian company after raising Rs 100 crore from TPG Growth.
TPG comes in as the first large foreign investor in the company. As a growth-stage investor, TPG in the past has backed several businesses in India including Lenskart, BookMyShow, Janalakshmi Finance and Manipal Hospitals. The new funding proves renewed interest by investors in niche e-commerce firms, especially when some players in the beauty category are struggling.
“TPG Growth’s Rs 100 crore investment gives Nykaa a spectacular jump in post-money valuation. The private equity firm’s investment gives Nykaa a Rs 5,027 crore ($724 million) valuation. The raise comes after a long hiatus in institutional investment in the cosmetic platform,” said Vivek Durai, founder of Paper.vc.
Durai said, the handsome jump in valuation can be attributed to Nykaa’s strong performance in the recent years. It more than doubled its revenue in FY17-18 to Rs 578 crore and narrowed losses 23 per cent at Rs 28.8 crore year-on-year, according to Paper.vc.
Launched in 2012 by Falguni Nayar, who was previously Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, Nykaa competes with online marketplaces like Myntra, Purplle, Flipkart, and Amazon. However, Nykaa follows an inventory-led model and has its own private label in cosmetics and personal care.++