Nykaa drives Falguni Nayar to be India's wealthiest self-made female billionaire

Falguni Nayar, the chief of the first woman-led unicorn to go public in India, has become the country’s richest self-made female billionaire with a net worth soaring to $6.5 billion.

Shares of FSN E-Commerce Ventures, which runs the online marketplace for beauty and wellness products Nykaa, listed with a massive premium of over 79 percent against an issue price of Rs 1,125 on November 10.

Nayar, who has pipped Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw in terms of assets, is now the second wealthiest woman in India after Savitri Jindal, the chairperson of OP Jindal group, who has a net worth of $12.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

She is now richer than the Muthoot family of the Muthoot Finance, Marico founder and Chairman Harsh Mariwala, Asian Paints’ Abhay Vakil, according to Forbes India Rich List.

Chairman of Cadila Healthcare Pankaj Patel, InterGlobe Aviation’s Bhatia family and Alkem Laboratories’ Singh family are also among those who rank below Nayar on the rich list.

The Nykaa stock debuted at Rs 2,001, reflecting a jump of 77.86 percent on the BSE. It then zoomed 89.24 percent to Rs 2,129. On the NSE, it listed at Rs 2,018 at a premium of 79.37 percent.

FSN’s valuation hit Rs 1 trillion ($13.5 billion) in the first five minutes of trade on Wednesday. The initial share-sale of FSN E-Commerce Ventures was subscribed 81.78 times earlier this month.

The Rs 5,352-crore Nykaa IPO had a price range of Rs 1,085-1,125 per share.

Nayar, a former investment banker, turned entrepreneur just few months before turning 50. She launched the e-commerce platform in 2012, selling beauty and personal care products through its mobile app and website.

“I hope the Nykaa journey – an Indian-born, Indian-owned and Indian-managed dream-come-true – can inspire each of you,” Nayar said at the listing ceremony.

The company has a diverse portfolio of beauty, personnel care and fashion products, including its owned manufactured brand products, under its two business verticals – Nykaa and Nykaa Fashion.

The company estimates that India’s beauty and personal care market will nearly double in size between 2020 and 2025, reaching nearly Rs 2 trillion.