Lexdale International, a key investor in the beauty ecommerce giant Nykaa, is reportedly set to offload 2.62 crore shares of the company through open market transactions. Sources close to the matter have indicated that the deal is anticipated to reach a total value of INR 490 crore, with prominent brokerage firms Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan taking charge of the transaction.
Nykaa, led by Falguni Nayar, recently provided insights into its quarterly performance, highlighting consistent growth across its three business verticals in the third quarter of the financial year 2023-24. Despite short-term pressures affecting discretionary consumption, Nykaa projects robust growth with the beauty and personal care arm’s gross merchandise value (GMV) expected to grow in the mid-twenties and the fashion vertical’s GMV to witness a growth of around 40% in Q3 FY24.
Adding to the positive momentum, Nykaa is speculated to join the MSCI Smallcap index if its stock witnesses a rally ranging from 8-20%, according to insights from Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research.
Throughout 2023, Nykaa faced challenges such as rising competition, high inflation, and increasing customer acquisition costs. However, the company managed to recover by the end of the year and has experienced an upward trajectory since then. Nykaa’s shares have surged more than 24% in the last 12 months, with an additional 11% gain in 2024.
It’s noteworthy that Nykaa did not witness any major block deals in 2023, and the recent uptick in stock price follows a year marked by top-level exits, market volatility, and intensified competition from both established players and new entrants like Reliance-backed Tira and Tata CLIQ.
As of Thursday, December 11, Nykaa’s shares closed 1.73% higher at INR 193.70 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
