Steadview Capital invests Rs 67 crore more in Nykaa

The capital infusion comes at a time when risk capital investment activity has almost ground to a halt because of the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, which, in turn, has forced vertical ecommerce companies such as Nykaa to conserve cash, given the steep plunge in discretionary spending by consumers.

Asia-focused hedge fund Steadview Capital has invested an additional ?67 crore in online beauty retailer Nykaa, as the Ravi Mehta-led investment firm continues its deal-making spree this year.

The latest capital infusion follows the Rs 100 crore Steadview Capital invested in the Mumbai-headquartered company in April. That had valued the company at about $1.2 billion, in the process catapulting it into the unicorn club, or those startups that command a valuation of at least $1 billion.

According to documents filed by the eight-year-old company, accessed by business intelligence platform Tofler, FSN E-commerce Pvt Ltd, the parent entity which owns and operates Nykaa, has allotted an additional 1,09,986 equity shares at Rs 6,049.56 per share to Steadview Capital Mauritius. Steadview Capital has now invested close to Rs 170 crore in the company and holds a 3% stake in the venture.

Since January, the firm, which first came into prominence in 2014 after it invested in India’s largest online retailer Flipkart, has backed wealth management platform INDWealth, logistics Software as a Service company Logi-Next, ed-tech venture Unacademy and fintech company BharatPe, through a mix of primary and secondary deals.

Steadview Capital invests Rs 67 crore more in Nykaa

The capital infusion comes at a time when risk capital investment activity has almost ground to a halt because of the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, which, in turn, has forced vertical ecommerce companies such as Nykaa to conserve cash, given the steep plunge in discretionary spending by consumers.

The latest investment comes almost a year after the company, which was founded by former merchant banker Falguni Nayar, closed a Rs 100 crore Series-E financing round led by TPG Growth, the mid-market investment arm of PE firm TPG Capital, valuing it at about $730 million at the time.