Nykaa Founder Falguni Nayar to Maintain Strong Control over Company Post IPO

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 5 August 2021

Falguni Nayar, the founder and CEO of omnichannel beauty retailer Nykaa, will not only be the first woman-led Indian unicorn to launch an IPO, but she is also expected to have strong control over the company compared to founders of other startups such as Paytm, PolicyBazaar, Zomato, Mobikwik, and CarTrade.

Six Indian startups, including Nykaa, have filed draught prospectuses with India's market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Zomato, a food delivery app, has already made a strong stock market debut.

According to the IPO draught papers, Falguni, a banker-turned-entrepreneur, will have the right to nominate up to “50% of the number of directors on the board as well as nominate at least one such nominee director as member on each statutory or other committee constituted by the board…,” according to the IPO draft papers.

The ability to exercise such rights comes at a time when most startup entrepreneurs have less than a 10% stake in their ventures by the time they list publicly.

This will be valid for as long as Nykaa's promoters own more than 25% of the company.

As long as Falguni Nayar, her husband Sanjay Nayar, chairman of private equity firm KKR India, the Nayar Family Trust, and the Sanjay Nayar Family Trust are classified as promoters, they can nominate up to one-third of the board of directors and at least one such nominee director as a member of a board-constituted committee.

Falguni, Sanjay, and their children own more than 53% of Nykaa parent company FSN E-commerce Ventures.

According to source, Nayar will retain majority control even after the IPO.

Falguni Nayar is an Indian businesswoman who spent 19 years as an investment banker at Kotak Mahindra. She is currently the founder and CEO of Nykaa, a beauty and lifestyle retail company.

Falguni Nayar is a Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics graduate. She completed her post-graduate studies at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad. She had a background in finance. Following this, she worked as a consultant for AF Ferguson & Co, a consultancy firm, for eight years.