SoftBank trims stake in IPO-bound FirstCry
SoftBank Vision Fund, a major shareholder in omnichannel retailer FirstCry, has sold more of its shares in the Pune-headquartered company. This move allows family offices and individuals, including Indian cricket star Sachin Tendulkar, Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, Manyavar founder Ravi Modi, and TVS Group, to acquire stakes in the soon-to-be-public platform. With the latest sale, the total secondary share transactions ahead of FirstCry's planned IPO next year exceed Rs. 1,000 crore.
SoftBank reduces holding to below 25%
SoftBank has sold shares worth around Rs. 600 crore, reducing its stake in FirstCry to under 25%. The tech investment giant, led by Masayoshi Son, has been gradually decreasing its ownership from about 29-30% over the past few years. SoftBank first invested in FirstCry in 2020. It has invested approximately $400 million since then and made nearly $300 million in returns. FirstCry will file its draft IPO papers this week, aiming to raise $500-600 million through the public offering.
FirstCry's IPO valuation could reach $4 billion
Although FirstCry has not disclosed its IPO valuation, sources estimate it could be around $4 billion. The company was previously valued at just under $3 billion. FirstCry is set to follow in the footsteps of Nykaa, becoming the second Indian vertical ecommerce platform to go public after Nykaa's IPO in 2021. The new investors will join existing stakeholders like Premji Invest and the Mahindra group on FirstCry's cap table.
